Says the Moose
by alwaysbutneverright
Summary: "Something changed between Ron and me, but I'm not sure what it is…" I didn't know how to finish, or if my voice would even allow me to. But I decided to add one thing, just one so Draco would know how serious this was. "I slapped him across the face..."
1. Chapter 1

**Let's just say this is continuing from where the books left off, even though Lucious Malfoy made it pretty clear in A Very Potter Sequel that, "He [Harry] marries Ginny, they live happily ever after. There is literally no way to move forward from this point." But alas, I shall try. This isn't happy for Hermione and Ron, and possibly not even a happy ending at all. The name is somewhat significant, later. But I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"Ron," I whispered, shaking him slightly to wake him from his slumber. "Ron, you have to wake up, we're taking Rose and Hugo to Kingscross station today…"<p>

I walked away, impatient, not wanting to wake the kids up until their own father was up. Then the anger snapped in me, so I turned around and stormed right back into the room not hesitating to yell, "Ronald! You better get up right now! This is important!" Suddenly his huge figure sat upright in bed, a surprised look spread across his face.

"What are you doing? Are you mad?" He looked at me incredulously like I had a dementor on top of my head or something.

"Are you mad? I told you we were waking up early so you could help me with breakfast! This is the last time I will have a Hugo in the house all the time! Don't you understand? Are you not sad at all?" I hate having fights with him, I do. But lately, that's all we have been doing. He doesn't do anything anymore, and it's making me sick and tired.

"I'm sorry, all right? Let's go make breakfast." He looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, and got out of bed to fall over to me. He pulled me into an embrace, and whispered into my hair, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." What was he talking about? Then I realized a tear had fallen down my cheek. Curse these stupid tears, they always betray me. In my anger I swiftly pulled away from him.

"Come on then." I padded down the stairs, already dressed for the day. Ron stumbled behind me, and I huffed, grabbing my wand from a small table and turning on the downstairs lights. I insisted last night we cook everything by hand, seeing as how Molly had proved to me things went by faster when they were enchanted, but this was special. Ron seemingly forgot this, though, and immediately grabbed his wand from the kitchen table to begin. "Ron! We're cooking by hand, remember?"

"Oh, right." He blushed a deep red as he halted the jug of milk in the idle of the kitchen, and then went to grab it. He turned, walked over to the kitchen table, held up his wand to me, and then set it down. I smiled in response and he walked back over to me to wrap his arms around me once more. He leaned in and kissed me, like he always did, and I just kissed him back. Awkwardly stepping away, we giggled at each other, and then turned to our posts.

I introduced "muggle-things" into the house long before we were even married. I told him during our engagement, right when we had first moved in with each other, that we had to blend the two cultures together, something he couldn't quite grasp. I would wake up to find him trying to light a fire with his wand in the toaster, or using the remote as some fighting object. It was quite humorous, if I do say so myself, but he soon got the hang of things, and our kids grew up as the only children (probably) to have a television and a broom they could fly on.

This morning, though, was a morning for toast, eggs, pancakes, and a treacle tart, which Uncle Harry introduced to the kids long ago. I left Ron to the toast, buttering it up and putting it in the toaster, an amazing feat for him when it came out brown. And I did the eggs and pancakes. After Ron was done with the toast, I was only starting on the pancakes, he turned and pulled the treacle tarts out of the refrigerator. He stared at them lustfully but I tsked at him.

"Go set out the plates with toast and a tart each, then go get the kids please."

"Yes, mom." He frequently called me this to make me upset, I assumed, but I just learned to laugh it off.

I heard the plates clatter onto the table, I cringed, but he got all of them on there, and set it up nicely. Just as I finished the pancakes he was upstairs waking Hugo and Rose. As I was putting the eggs and pancakes onto their plates I heard screams coming from upstairs, then fits of giggles. All the sudden, what sounded like a million horses, they came running down the stairs, first Rose, then Hugo, and following up the lead was Ron. He picked them both up in sweep and tickled them in his arms while they flailed in mid air. To say this was a normal thing was an understatement. Ron was practically my other child, but it was adorable. I wasn't a strict parent, and I did get pulled into a game of tag, hide and go seek, and the occasional dog piles. But I could admit that I am nothing like Ron when it comes to parenting. He's so carefree and childlike, that I am the one who hands out the punishments, and gets the bulk of the silent treatments. I was used to ugly stairs and dinner, and rolled eyes behind my back, but these happened few and far between now. My kids weren't bad kids; they were just kids growing up. But I never got reports of them acting out in Hogwarts as I had done over nineteen years ago with my husband and our best friend.

My children know about my "glory days" and never have to ask questions because Ron always has a beefed up story tell them whenever he fancied. One dragon became five dragons, and the three-headed dog became an eight-headed dog. I always shook my head behind his back and held up the real number behind him as well. But my children were smart, so they went along with his stories "oooh-ing" and "ahhh-ing" whenever it became necessary. Uncle Harry would join in the stories too, but he always told the very modest versions of them, so my children didn't ask as often as they used to anymore. But they love the company of all their aunts, uncles, and cousins; completely spoiled by all grandparents involved.

When Ron finally set them down, I waved my hand towards the table, seeing their faces light up at all their favorite things laid out for them to eat for breakfast. We sat down and Hugo immediately takes a huge bite of his tart and says through a full mouth, "'re 'ese 'ncle 'arry's?"

"Yes, him and your aunt Ginny made them special for you guys; one for breakfast, and one each for the train ride over there. Be sure to thank them on the platform."

"Yes mom," Rose and Hugo said in unison. I thought I heard Ron mumble in there too, but I didn't look at him when I responded.

"Thank you guys. Are you sure you got everything packed, especially you Rose?" I stared at her, a gaze she hates, and I felt so motherly.

"_Yes_ mom. I packed everything this time, _even_ my caldron." I remembered this happening to her last year, getting fits of giggles from everyone who knew about it. She was so embarrassed she threatened in her letters that if she didn't run away that year, she wouldn't come back the next. So this year I made a checklist that they were to double, and triple check. Ron told me I was completely mad, but I had to remind him how much it sucked to get made fun of by the wrong sort at Hogwarts. The boy who made fun of her the most, and made a lot of her letters home have dried tear drops on them, was none other than Draco's son, Scorpious. It disgusted me to know they were all the same, Slytherins, that is. But I nodded my head at Rose, suddenly coming back from my flashback.

"I was just checking, sweetie. Did you help Hugo check his?"

"Mom! I'm eleven now! I can check my own bags for myself, don't you think so dad?"

I eyed Ron carefully, but he didn't even look my way until he'd already opened his mouth to talk, "You know, he has got a point Hermione. I mean, he is going to Hogwarts, and Rose can't just go and take care of him all the time. That would totally embarrass him. Rose got on by herself her first two years; I suppose Hugo could do the same thing. Dontcha think?"

I stared at him, I know my jaw fell slightly open, and I know I made a small squealing noise. But I couldn't help it, he was being ridiculous.

"Ron, I don't care if Rose got on fine, well I do, I just mean if I tell them to do something, they should do it, no questions asked. I get it that Hugo is growing up, but –" I stopped, remembering we had an audience. "We should talk about this privately, later."

We all went straight back to eating, silently of course, the awkwardness overwhelming. As I finished and scooted back my chair I waved my wand an all the plates flew to the sink and sponge went to work. Ron snorted at me, attempting to suppress a laugh and I just looked at him incredulously, "I said we'd _make_ breakfast by hand, not clean it up."

"Whatever makes life easier honey." And with that they all rose before he started to chase them upstairs one last time before they left us.

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><p>Before I knew it, we were walking past platform 5, speeding up to get to platform 9 ¾ as soon as possible. Rose and I went flying through the enchanted wall first, filling the tingles as we passed through it. She pointed out her aunts fiery red hair in the crowd, and we waiting for Ron and Hugo to pass through before we made our way over there to say our goodbyes. Hugo passed through in Ron's arms', laughing, and Ron had a huge grin on his face. He set Hugo down and ruffed his hair as they walked over, silently wondering if we found the Potters.<p>

"Over there, Rose found them." I jerked my head their way, and started making my way through the crowd. Faces turned in Ron and my direction, but we ignored it, making our way to Harry. There was a considerable amount of space left around Harry, Ginny, and their three children. It was normal behavior, seeing as he is still "The Chosen One" and still recognized as "The Boy Who Lived" even still today. People constantly gawked at us three being together, the "Golden Trio Reunited" was the headline of any newspaper that snapped a shot of us together. We all laughed over our tea's reading it, because we were always together. We never "reunited", heck, we were related! But apparently we were still royalty, and needed to be treated as such.

"The circle never leaves you guys does it?" I whispered in Ginny's ear, receiving the hilarious reaction of her jumping four feet into the air before she turned around to hug me.

"You are mad! And of course the circle never leaves! We have our own bubble!" She said, laughing. Then I turned to hug Harry, but when I looked off into the distance I saw Draco staring at us all. I frowned at him, but immediately put a smile on when Harry pulls me away.

"Uncle Harry?"

"Yes, Hugo?"

"Thanks for the treacle tarts; they're better than mommy's." I looked at him, and I couldn't believe he really just said that… Was my cooking that bad? Ron was pitching a giggle fit behind me while Hugo slammed his hand over his mouth before turning to look at me, "I am so sorry mommy. I didn't mean to say that. It slipped…"

"Its okay sweetie," I leaned down to caress his cheek before standing back up. "You four have to get on the train." I smiled at all of them, seeing Albus and Hugo looking terrified. "You'll both be fine." They turned all shouting different goodbyes to each family member there. I turned to look at Harry and Ginny, holding hands, and their daughter Lily right at Ginny's side. They were a beautiful family, and looked so complete with each other. I didn't even know where Ron had even gone to, and I felt empty. Then I noticed Draco walking by, staring at _me_, again. I looked around for Ron, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He was saying his last goodbyes to the children through a train car window.

I walked up to him and grabbed his hand and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Come on, we have the house to ourselves now."

He immediately said his last good bye, and turned towards the enchanted platform entrance/exit. He let go of my hand in his haste, but I turned to say goodbye to Harry, Ginny, and Lily then trailed behind him. On our way out my purse ripped from my shoulder and spilled all its contents on the platform. Ron was already through the enchanted wall, so I bent down to clean it myself. Then another set of hands joined my, just throwing the stuff carelessly in my bag. I rambled my thank you's and apologies, but was stopped short when I looked up to see who it was.

"Draco?"

"Yes, Granger, or I suppose you're a Weasley now aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you for helping with my bag."

"You owe me…" He sneered at me, and I didn't know how to respond. "How about coffee? Isn't that what you muggles like to have?"

"Uhm, yes. But I don't understand where this is coming from Draco. I thought you hated me?"

"Whatever, Granger. See you later." Then he walked away, and I was left on platform 9 ¾ wondering what on Earth just happened….

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><p><strong>I literally thought this all up in a dream, woke up in the middle of the night, and texted my fellow fanfiction…person, friend, thingy… ? my best friend Loo-McAllister, and told her about it. This wouldn't be possible without her (seeing as she's my 2 AM, so if I didn't have a 2 AM this idea would've been lost forever, seeing how I didn't even remember texting her til I woke up and saw it like 6 hours later). So I dedicate this to you! (: And it's your fault I like DraMione stories now… Curse you.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to the immediate response to the last chapter, here's this one! I couldn't help it! I have no more books on my shelves to read! But WARNING! I know this is rated T but I thought I'd forwarn this chapter briefly talks about sex. Not in detail, just in the overview of sex life way... Well... Enjoy? (:**

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><p>We owned a car, a normal, blue car. It wasn't small, but not huge either. Perfect for a family of four. Perfect, mostly because this was the present my parents gave me for my seventeenth birthday, right before I left them stranded in Australia with new names, childless. But in time they forgave me, and also gave me my car back. It still smelled brand new, even though I insisted on driving it everywhere. Ron hated driving; he normally sulked in the passenger seat, looking out the window, probably picturing himself riding his broomstick alongside the car instead of riding in it.<p>

But this time he sat upright, and watched excitedly in front of us the whole time, always asking, "Isn't it on that road we turn to get home?"

"No, Ron," I stated agitatedly, "it isn't for another 30 minutes that we'll be home."

"Oh," he simply said, sliding back into his seat to sulk at my agitated tone. I don't know where it came from, honestly I don't.

Maybe it was that go awful run in with Draco, which has happened a lot lately. Everywhere I am, he pops up, if not just in the distance, or for a glance, he's there. I don't know if it's coincidental, or just creepy. He somehow became a healer at Saint Mungo's, and has been making it every day, how that's possible I'm not sure, to the Ministry of Magic to do the checkups for those who simply couldn't get down to Saint Mungo's easily due to their jobs. Everyone, in turn, has been signed up for a checkup in their office at some point over the month, meaning I was either to be checked on by Draco Malfoy, why he's a healer I am unsure, or Luna Lovegood, who loves helping people and is a dear friend of mine. But I was dreading it either way. I hate checkups... even the magical kind.

I huffed in frustration, making Ron look at me and ask, "What's wrong 'Mione? Did I make you mad?" His puppy dog eyes, damn those puppy dog eyes; they made me forget 99% of the time that I hate being called 'Mione, not that I would ever tell my husband that.

I simply put my hand on his, quickly squeezed it, and then placed it back on the wheel. He took that as a good sign, and went back to his window, back to his imagination, back to something fun.

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><p>We got home, unsure of what to do, seeing as how we had always had a child in the house since Rose was born. I felt awkward having sex with a child in the house, so our sex life was dead, despite Ron's efforts to coerce me into every so often. But I never gave in, never even being utterly turned on enough to do it. He wasn't boring in bed, just ordinary, normal, and predictable… which was boring after all… I never felt the romance in it anymore; it was just rough, and fast. He got off more than I ever have. But the one time Rose's grandparents took her for a spend the night trip at their house, we conceived Hugo. And it was also the last time I felt the romance, felt into it, and felt honestly pleasured.<p>

So this, being alone in the house, felt weird. I didn't know what he wanted to do, or I knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know what I wanted to do. I wasn't sure if I even knew what I wanted to do. So I stood in the kitchen doorway awkwardly, watching him stare at me. He licked his lips at me, seeing Merlin knows what in my appearance attractive. I thought about this for a second, guessing how I should respond, what body language to use, what I was even going to do. I wanted to make love for hours, but how would I convey that to him?

I felt like a freaking virgin again! I didn't know what to do! I was going mad… We've had sex plenty of times, this should be second nature for a married couple, but it wasn't, not for us. Ron told me about Harry and Ginny's sex life, to my displeasure. I remember the conversation vividly:

"'_Mione, they do it like every day. Why can't we do it once a month at least?"_

"_Ronald! That's your sister! Why are you comparing our sex life to hers?"_

"_Because at least Harry get's it every day, and I get it once a decade," he mumbled, looking away displeased with my reaction._

"_Ron, we have kids in the house __**all**__ the time, and we're always really tired after work," 'probably why you can't last long at all,' I finished in my head…_

"_Ship them off to your parents for the weekend, we never work weekends." He looked at me, hopeful._

"_Ron, I can't do that to my parents." He got off and stalked away mumbling._

"_Even my own sister gets it every day, I don't understand…"_

I chuckled, and then looked at my husband, winking. I figured I would tell him what I wanted; Ginny told me (completely disgusted) that guys sometimes liked it when you told them what to do in bed. So I raised a hand, beckoning him with my index finger. He immediately got out of his chair, and walked over to me taking my face in both hands, almost able to wrap his bear paws around my entire head. He pulled me into a kiss, rough, attempting to be passionate. I broke us away before whispering, despite the house being devoid of any but ourselves, "I want to make love to you all day." It sounded so stupid, why did I tell him that?

"Sounds amazing to me 'Mione," moment ruiner, "I love you, so much." It would've been sweet if I didn't know he was only saying it because I was having sex with him for the first time since… Merlin, I don't even know. But I decided to go along with it, not ruin the moment any more than it already has been.

"I love you, too." Then he swept me off my feet and took me into our bedroom.

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><p>Four hours was all I got, four hours and he was spent, and I felt hardly satisfied despite the length of our excursion. But I stilled rolled out of bed, let him sleep, and went to make us dinner. It was weird not hearing my children running around the house, not having Ron playing with them, and not having so many mouths to feed. I suddenly realized how many pasta noodles ended up in pot, Ron and I would never eat that much. But I continued to cook them, making meat sauce, and grating the cheese. By the time it was done, Ron had been drug into the kitchen by his senses, and sat at the table, shirtless, and waiting. Ron wasn't fat, never put on weight after quidditch ended, never grew that belly guys seem to acquire with age, but Ron was simply toned. He worked out frequently, being an Auror you had to be agile and strong, and Ron kept to that memo very well. I supposed to any other woman he'd be simply delectable for a man of his age. For starters, he was a part of "The Golden Trio," second he was built, and thirdly he was cute in the face, as well as everywhere else. While Harry was cute, in the sense that he was your next door neighbor or something, Ron was, as other women put it, "sexy." He loved the attention, so I think that's why he's stayed beefed up for so long. I suppose he should strike me the way that he strikes other women, but he doesn't. I see him for the simple, clumsy man he is. He's appealing, yes, but I guess I'm so used to him that his body doesn't make my jaw drop. I suddenly felt guilty for this, and walked over to him, rubbing my hands down his whole torso, feeling him moan as he leaned in to suck my neck. I kissed his cheek then stood up straight, turned, and then went back to put the plates together. I turned and walked back to a sulking Ron, and we ate dinner peacefully.<p>

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><p>Dinner was short, filled mostly by the deafening noise silence casted upon us. I often looked to my left and right, expecting to see Rose and Hugo, but never did they appear, or crawl out from under the table.<p>

After dinner was over, Ron stammered into the living room to watch football, a new past time he'd picked up when there was news everywhere about some "FIFA World Cup," whatever that was. I didn't like sports, never have, never will. I can't even ride a broom, so if I can't do something in the magical world, I certainly couldn't do it in the muggle world. Suddenly I heard a terrifying bellow from the other room, "Get it Beckham, kick it in, kick it in, GOOOAAAALLLLLLL."

"Ron, I thought Beckham wasn't even playing?" I peered around the doorway to see the TV screen. I instantly saw the jerseys for Team Spain and Team Netherlands, having recognized them from being forced to watch it every single day it went on. "Ron, are you even paying attention? That's Spain and the Netherlands."

"Oh, I knew that. I was just testing you," he peered around to give me a smile and a wink before turning back around to watch the football game.

I shook my head at him, finishing cleaning the dishes, when suddenly I realized an owl had been perched on our window seal. Quickly wiping off my hands, I scurried over to him. Having two people working for the Ministry in the house meant that these owls could be important. But when I untied the parchment from the bird's leg, I saw the informal scroll on the page stating, "To: Hermione Granger."

I fed the bird a small treat, and it immediately took off to disappear into the night. I stared at the parchment, wondering who would be writing to Hermione Granger… She was gone the moment she said yes to Ronald Weasley. Everybody in the magical world knew this, so who would address something to Hermione Granger… Granger… "Granger," spat the familiar voice in my head, registering it from when he had spat it at me nearly 12 hours earlier... I looked at the parchment incredulously, wondering what secrets it held. I wondered, suddenly, if it was cursed, or was a portkey to some terrifying place. I immediately dropped the parchment, recalling Harry's unfortunate incident with a hidden portkey during his fourth year. Then, I laughed at myself. "I am going mad," I said aloud to myself, giggling like a little first year.

"What did you say 'Mione?" I flushed, suddenly embarrassed. Had I really said it that loud?

"Nothing, just laughing to myself." I didn't get a response back, not that I was expecting one. So I carefully picked up the parchment, and carefully unrolled it. If it didn't have a curse, then it had something worse, for it knocked my breath right out as I read it to myself, not once, but at least five times. My eyes widened at the thirteen words on the page. Or was that really counted as twelve? I thought maybe I was dreaming; I was really tired before opening the parchment. Maybe I fell asleep on my way to open it and this was all a nightmare. Draco would never send me this! So I folded it up, put it in my pocket, and walked into the living room. Still convinced I was in dreamland, I put my hand on Ron's leg, and rubbed my thumb across it. Merlin, I was tired… I laid my head on his knee, still rubbing it with my hand. He started rubbing my back, and I felt myself getting swept away with sleep.

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><p><em>I ran a lot, and I didn't even know what I was running for, or where I was going. I just simply found myself running. Then it all seemed like it should make sense when I came up to a house. It was a stony house, in the middle of the woods. Vines grew up its side and on the top of it. It didn't make it look run down, though. It made it look appropriate, homey… just perfect. I walked up to the house and raised my hand to the door, when it occurred to me, out of nowhere, that I didn't have to knock. So I twisted the knob and walked in. I knew exactly where to go, to get to wherever my body was instinctively taking me. I pushed open a door and walked into the quaintest room I've ever seen. The furniture was beautiful, rustic, and it all fit in with the whole theme of the house. The pictures on the wall didn't move, so this was a muggle home, but they were beautiful, simple photographs of barns, fruit, and streets. You would've thought these things weren't beautiful, but they were in these pictures. I gaped at the room, totally in awe, and then I looked to the bed. He was beautiful there, looking like an archangel on the bed with his pale skin and white-blond hair. He smiled at me and I almost fainted.<em>

"_I see you got my owl. I knew you would come, Hermione." He looked like he was glowing, and my heart beckoned me to go further into the room, into his arms. I slid onto the bed, falling easily into his arms, fitting perfectly. Then I twisted around to press my lips to his…_

I woke up with a start, breathing hard, and looking wildly around the room. Ron snored next to me, and I realized he'd put me to bed. I was wearing PJ's, suddenly feeling violated, until I saw my underwear was the same. He was so thoughtful. But that dream had me in a tizzy. This couldn't be happening. But then again I could've dreamed it all up. So I got up, and searched in the dark for my pants. They were easy to find, seeing as he had thrown them to the floor in front of the bed. I searched the pockets, and my stomach dropped as I felt the edge of parchment. I pulled it out from the pocket, and stared at it. Even though I couldn't see anything in the dark, I stared at it, waiting for the questions in my head to be answered without ever having to look at it. But as the paper sat there silently, I huffed, got up, and padded out of the room to the kitchen. I turned on the lights, threw the parchment onto the table, and went to get something to drink. I grabbed milk and a treacle tart, then sat at the table, eyeballing the paper like it was about to attack me. As I finished my tart, I picked up the parchment, and opened it. I read it once, and then I dropped it. This wasn't a dream… Those twelve or thirteen words were real. They existed in the real world. And they sat there on the table, staring back up at me…

"I was serious. Meet me at Madam Pedifoot's in Hogsmeade. Tomorrow at 7."


	3. Chapter 3

"Tomorrow at 7…" I said aloud… slowly. It didn't make sense… "Tomorrow. At. 7? Well Merlin! 7 when? Draco, you are a piece of work!" I accidentally screamed the last sentence then quickly place my hand over my mouth. But then I realized I have no kids in the house; I didn't have anyone except Ron…. And Ron was upstairs, snoring.

I started to weep, for many reasons of course: frustration, anger, abandoned, but mainly I was lonely. I wept for a long while, watching the blackness of the night fade into a pale blue in the morning. I stood up, and went into the guest bathroom to find my face was fiery red, and my eyes were swollen and bruised. My hair was in knots and tangles around my face, some clumps clung to my face, and I just looked wet. Ron either would ignore the look, and I would cry more, or Ron would tell me to explain it to him, and not comfort me at all, resulting in more tears. Therefore he couldn't see me like this. I walked over to our study, which was connected to the living room, and got out a piece of parchment and a quill.

_Gone to visit Ginny, be back soon._

_-Hermione_

I placed it on the kitchen table with a plate of hot pancakes and milk. And went back into the living room, to our fireplace. I threw the floo powder we had sitting in a pot next to the fire place, leaned down on all fours, and said the address to Harry and Ginny's place. Not wanting to just barge in, I stuck my head through the floo network, and popped up in the embers of a fire. Harry was reading _The Quibbler_ on the couch, looked up, and smiled at me.

"Hermione! It's so good to see you! What are you doing in there? You know you can pop in any time." He knelt down to smile at me and talk, such an incredible best friend he is. I hoped he wouldn't see my horrid condition.

"Is Ginny around? Girl talk, you know?" He thought to himself for a moment, before pivoting around on his heel to stalk off towards their bedroom. 2 minutes later a smiling Harry walks out of the room with a sleepy Ginny trailing right behind.

"Well, Hermione, are you gonna come over or what? You don't have to talk to her through that!"

"You woke her up Harry! You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh, hush, silly," Ginny smiled at me, trying to look more awake. "I'm already up, best not waste my time or I will be mad…" She raised her eyebrows at me, which cause me huff, but I threw the rest of my body into the fireplace, rolling to a stop and Ginny and Harry's feet.

"Merlin! Hermione are you okay?" they said in unison, making tears well up in my eyes just seeing how perfect they were together. I started bawling again and Harry and Ginny both grabbed for me at the same time.

"Harry, my love," Ginny said, beating him to get me into her arms, "She said 'girl talk' right?"

"Yes, Ginny, but she's my best friend, too."

"I understand that, honey. But sometimes just girls need to talk about things." I heard them share a quick kiss before he stood up to leave.

"I love you, Hermione. Just always remember that." Harry said to me before he turned to leave. I felt horrible, having hurt his feelings, so I pushed out of Ginny's arms and ran to him, throwing my arms around him in an embrace.

"I love you, too, Harry. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I really do have to talk to Ginny." I pulled away to look at him. I must look like some mad woman, but everything is crumbling down on me. Or at least, that's what it feels like is happening.

"I understand, Hermione. Go talk to Ginny. You need it." He said the last sentence trying to brush all the hair out of my face. He kissed me on the top of my head, turned, and disappeared through the doorway. I turned to look at Ginny, who patted the couch next to her for me to sit on.

"What's going on Hermione? I've never seen you like this before." She pats my arm, trying to look into my eyes.

"I just feel like everything is falling apart. The kids just left, and I feel so alone." I didn't want to tell her that her own brother wasn't filling any holes anymore, because if I did, all hell would break loose in the Weasley family.

"That's common, Hermione. Mothers feel that all the time. I bet you Ron is quite all right, and it's not because he doesn't miss or love them, but he just doesn't have the same attachment to them like you do." She smiled at me and it all made sense. But how did she know? Lily still lived with her and Harry.

"Thanks, but I just… I need help with this." I pulled a piece of parchment out of my back pocket and put it into her hand. It wasn't why I came here at all, not even close, she wasn't even supposed to see the letter, no one was, but I felt dumb for coming here. I needed a reason. Then, my eyes got wide. The signature! Was there even one? I couldn't remember. I suddenly felt self conscious as she read the letter silently to herself. It was taking too long, she had to have been reading it over again.

"Looks like someone just wants to have dinner, or at least, let's hope it's not breakfast. Its 15 minutes past 8." She smiled at me and I just kind of looked at her.

"What do you think it means?" That was the only thing that could come out of mouth, and I sounded dumb.

She took a deep breath in, and flipped the parchment over. "Well, for starters, it's addressed to Hermione Granger, meaning they have known you since you were little but haven't picked up a damn paper since you hit puberty." We both giggled at that, "Or they might think it'll make it more… personable to have used your maiden name."

"How is that personal?"

"Well, they might be trying to say that they recognize you for who you were born to be, untied to another name. Maybe it's a guy." She was so smart, it made me gulp. How did she know? But Draco wouldn't be doing it like that. He just knew it annoyed me.

"I think it was the puberty one. What else do you got Dr. Phil?" I hardly knew who he was, but my parents watched him to get giggles sometimes. She just kind of stared at me, but kept going, taking it as a muggle thing.

"Well, they said 'I was serious,' meaning they had told you this was going to happen before it did, I presume. And then Madam Pedifoot's is very romantic for school girl, so they might be in Hogwarts. It is a Saturday."

"Ginny, that is the first dumb thing you've said all day. It's their first full day at Hogwarts; no one will be in Hogsmeade."

"No one will be in Hogsmeade, Hermione, you are brilliant!"

"I'm so lost!"

"Well, ever since the Second Wizarding War, they close down Hogsmeade for a week. Meaning, it will literally be empty."

"Ginny, if they empty out Hogsmeade, then how could I apparate there? There has to be those alarm things that they had up during your sixth year!"

"Well, some of the shop keepers live in their shops, remember Aberforth? Well, I bet they're still trying to run their business by allowing people to just apparate inside their shop walls!"

"You are brilliant. And why aren't you working for the Ministry?"

"I am now a full time mother. Nothing can be better, until Lily leaves…" I didn't comment, knowing it was already hurting her. But I was suddenly feeling loads better about the rest of the day. I didn't want to go home, though. Not yet.

"Ginny, I could never thank you enough, you are so intelligent! But one more favor… Can I use the bathroom to freshen up a bit?"

"Definitely. I'm going to assume Ron knows nothing about this, meaning it is or isn't his fault. I haven't figured that part out. But my lips are sealed. Go try and find Harry and make sure he isn't already screaming at Ron."

"Thank you, I love you Ginny."

"Love you too," was all I heard as I closed the door to the bathroom, slipped off my clothes, and stammered into the Potters shower.

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><p>I stayed at the Potters for awhile, just catching up with Ginny and Harry. Around 4 a large figured appeared in the fireplace, screaming my name like I was about to jump off a cliff. Ron had come, and I had totally forgotten about him.<p>

"Ronald! Calm down! I'm right here! I'm –," he cut off my sentence, and my air passage ways. He had me in such a tight hug; you would assume he'd never see me again.

"I thought you had gone missing!" He stared at me like he'd never seen me before. Harry and Ginny looked at each other skeptically. I bet they were thinking I had run away from home for the day, and that it was **definitely** Ron's fault I was crying this morning. Little did they know, they were dead wrong.

"Ron, I left you a note!"

"I know but, Merlin, don't do that again. I missed you."

"I guess I'll be going home," I said to Harry and Ginny, both nodding their heads in agreement.

"Bye guys," Ron mumbled stepping into the fireplace.

"Bye, thank you guys so much!" I scurried into the fireplace, being sucked through, then seeing our home.

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><p>I told Ron I had to meet some people from my department, just for some coffee, as friends. He told me it was fine, and I got read within the hour of my departure. I was nervous as I went to the edge of my yard to apparate. I wasn't nervous because of apparating, I was just nervous because what if these directions were wrong? What if I couldn't get into Hogsmeade? But then I did it as fast as I could, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Draco sitting right in front of me, a candle on the table, wine glasses, and we were alone.<p>

I was about to turn and go back home, when he grabbed my arm and said, "You go back, then I'm going with you. Try explaining that to the Weasel." He had a point I supposed, so I turned to look at him dead in the eyes, to prove I wasn't afraid. He turned towards the table and held out a hand for me to sit down. I did as he told me out of pure curiosity.

"How are you?" That was the first thing he asked me, and I was stunned into taking a sip of the delightful wine before answering.

"I'm… weary, but doing fine. How about you?"

"I'm worried about you." I nearly choked on air, what did he just say?

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't think of it as intimate, I am a healer you know. I can tell you're stressed out, and have been melting down a lot. I can see your trembling hands from fatigue," he reached across the table with **both** hands to hold and caress my shaking hand, "I also can tell by your even paler skin," he reached further across to brush the back of his hand along my cheekbone. "What's wrong with you? You're always fine."

I was too stunned to say anything. What was I supposed to say? I hadn't talked to Draco in years! "Malfoy, I don't think that's any of your business to be honest with you." I smirked at myself for that one. But I wanted to frown when he just nodded his head, not wanting to press the issue any further.

"Well, Granger, what do you want to do? What do you want to talk about?"

"Can I ask you two questions?"

He stared at me for a moment, having an internal argument about it before he answered, "yes."

"Why did you want to do this?"

"To make amends somehow, prove to you that I am sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me," I said it shakily.

"Yes, Granger, I think I do. Because, you see, I have watched you take the Cruciatus Curse right in front of my eyes, and I didn't stop it. I was so guilty, I felt utterly ashamed. So there I was in Kingscross station, walking up to you, when you and the Weasel ran! So I took out my wand, ripped your bag off, and here we are."

"So why did you pick Madam Pedifoots?"

"She's my mums friend, she owed me, so I got the place empty, and yet again, here we are."

"Malfoy, I think it's time for me to go. I accept your apology." I stood to apparate, but he was suddenly upright, gripping my arms and holding me there.

"I will find out what's wrong, Granger, and I will find out soon." He was terrifying at that moment, and I just wanted to leave.

"Okay, Malfoy. Whatever you say."

"Oh, and Granger," he said standing upright, his hands leaving my arms, "I'll see you Monday morning for your check-up." Then he apparated, and was gone. And I just stood there like an idiot.

"Monday… morning? Check-up?..." I almost fainted before I could apparate into our yard.

What just happened?

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><p><strong>Sorry this was so long!<strong>

**I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written (maybe) **

**BUT**

**But (this will be at the bottom of every story) Brick Walls is on temporary put down!**

**I haven't quit that story, but this is my laptop I have all my other stories on now,**

**And Brick Walls in its entirety is :duh duh duuhhhh: on my broken desktop…**

**BUT we're trying to fix it! So, it'll awhile, so don't hate me…**

**Review for faster updates! (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I admit, I'm very nervous about this chapter.**

**It's probably the longest thing I've ever written (chapter wise).**

**But I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>The whole weekend was sex free, which probably wouldn't have sped up the hours. I felt like we had been in the house for years when my alarm clock went off Monday morning. Ron travelled to work an hour before me, meaning he was gone every morning I woke up, giving me a nice refreshing morning to myself. I love work, I truly do, but I hate the process of getting up and getting ready for it. Ron always took long, hot showers, which always left me with cold water. So my showers in the morning were just quick dips, and I was ready for work in half an hour.<p>

Coffee became my best friend for early morning work days, and I always got up just a wee bit earlier to make it. Ron hated the contraption; he could never make it work right. While my coffee tasted of silk, his came out in clumps, and honestly looked to revolting to drink. But this morning I was a smidgen late, so instead of peacefully enjoying my coffee, I had to grab it and run to the edge of the yard to apparate onto the empty ally way that I was assigned to. I hurried to the bathroom entrance of the Ministry. This all became second nature when you worked here, and the whole toilet thing wasn't a problem anymore. So I quickly stepped in, pulled the lever, and there I was standing in a fireplace of the main atrium in the Ministry.

It was really beautiful, totally redone, and totally full of Muggle approval. Harry rather liked the sculptures, but I think it's because none of them embodied him. After marveling at the atrium, something I find myself doing a lot, I headed for the elevators to start my daily work. I drank my coffee as I rode with some familiar people, Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, and Gerard Willerby. They looked at me quite odd, or rather they looked at my coffee, but I chose to ignore them. I was more than relieved to get off the elevator and to my work, so I nearly ran to my office to start.

Right when I opened the door, though, someone was already sitting in my office. He was just sitting in the chair in front of my desk, one leg hiked on the other, just staring at all my pictures and things. Who let him in here? Why was he in here? Damn it! My check up! I'd forgotten all about it, or maybe I just put it out of my head because I honestly thought he was kidding. But no, there Draco was, just waiting for me, and I had a total freak out.

"Uhm, Draco?" I knew it was him, but I couldn't help but hope it wasn't.

"Why, Ms. Granger, how are you?" His smile looked down right unnatural on his face, but it was pretty. However, it bothered me how he called me 'Ms. Granger' as if I'd never gotten married… I don't understand, but I planned to question him about that later. Right now, I had other things to worry about.

"You weren't kidding about my check-up were you?" A gleam hit his eye as he got up from his chair, opening up his briefcase on my desk. It wasn't typical muggle doctor things, but this was the wizard world, so everything looked simpler. He pulled out a very long piece of parchment, before turning to look at me. There were two columns that I saw, Luna's name etched over one, Draco's over the other. They had both crossed out all the names simultaneously it looked like, and they still had a lot to go. But when he turned the parchment towards me, his finger pointing to the next uncrossed name on the list, and that name happened to be Hermione Weasley.

"They are posted at every office, Granger. How could you miss it?" I gulped; I honestly never looked; I didn't fancy the idea of a check-up, so why would I anticipate it?

"Well, I guess I was just so busy working..." I looked down, feeling awkward and stupid. "How long is this going to take?" I chewed the inside of my mouth, a nasty habit I had when I got nervous.

"Well, if you chew the inside of your mouth off, then it will take longer." He must have seen me frozen there because he quickly added, "Relax, Granger, it won't take long, unless you want it to." He saw me blush, why did I blush? He chuckled at me before putting away the parchment, and putting rubber gloves on. I didn't notice his attire before now, and he looked really good. Opposed to his normal black attire, he was wearing quite the opposite, and he looked just as stunning. He had on white pants, a white tucked in polo, and a medical jacket with the St. Mungo's logo on it. It made his eyes a lighter shade of grey, and just gave him the appearance of an angel. He paused, seeing me stare at him, and then he cleared his throat. During all my staring he had conjured an examination table, with a set of robes on top. "Uhm, just put on the robes so I can examine you. I sterilized the room while you were staring at m- staring off into space," I blushed deep red, hearing him admit, almost, that I had been staring at him, "so I can't step out. I can put up curtains and go stand in a corner while you change."

"Uhm, okay. Thank you Draco."

"I prefer Dr. Malfoy while I'm at work, Granger." He seemed agitated all the sudden, and it was weird.

"I prefer _Mrs. Weasley_ while I'm your patient, Dr. Malfoy." I spat it at him, seeing him suddenly get angry, and throwing up a curtain with his wand. I was so confuse where the hostility came from, but I grabbed the robes on the bed, holding them up to see what I was putting on. It was backless, and I didn't like that one bit. Did I have to wear my underwear? Should I even ask? Well I guess I should, I don't want him to be even madder, so here it goes, "Dra – Dr. Malfoy?"

He sighed heavily, obviously still upset, but responded, "Yes, _Mrs. Weasley_?" He spat out my name, and tears came to my eyes. He sounded more hostile with Mrs. Weasley than he did when he called me a mudblood so many years ago.

"This is a weird question," I started to ask, making sure my voice wasn't shaky, "but am I supposed to have on my underwear with this robe?" He sat there for a moment before answering.

"No. That robe is enchanted to let me examine you with my wand; your underwear would impair the check-up." It sounded like the truth, so I stripped down to nothing, and slipped into the robes. I sat on the bed, and called him over. I jumped when the curtain disappeared and he stood there, looking a whole lot better. The right corner of his mouth was even curved up slightly.

"Let's begin then, lie on your back and don't move. I have to test your skin to see if any of the toxic magic from the Department of Mysteries has affected you."

"But, Dr. Malfoy, I don't go to the Department of Mysteries?" Calling him doctor just felt weird…

"I know, but their stuff still leaks. It's precautionary. Just lie down!" I did as he told me, and he pulled out his wand, whispering enchantments as he slowly went up my body. Nothing seemed odd, or weird, but blue blotches appeared on the robe where my stomach was, and I wondered what had happened. It didn't even faze him and he kept going, up to the very top of my head before standing back and addressing my stomach. "It looks as though almost everyone in the Ministry has been affected near their stomachs. So don't worry about it, you'll just have to set up a short appointment for me to come back and make sure it's gone away."

"So you're going to cure it, but I have to have a follow up?"

"Yes, it's nothing serious, but if we cure something, we have to have a follow up. It's the rule. So stay put while I get the potion to cure it." He stepped away from me, and my eyes followed him as he went over to his briefcase. His strides were so elegant; his posture so perfect. His arms bulged in his jacket, yet he was lean. Ron was just all muscle and bulk, built like a beater, but Draco was built perfect for a seeker, his body looking much like Harry's used to. He keeps his hair now slightly shorter than it was at Hogwarts, and it suited him better. He looked amazing, but the look on his face when he turned around did not look good. The bottle he carried over to me didn't look like it even had anything in it!

"I have bad news and slightly better, but still kind of bad news…" I nodded, just wanting him to tell me. "Since we have so many people with this poisoning, we've used a lot of this potion. I am currently out, meaning Luna is most likely out too. That was the bad news, and here is the slightly better news. You'll have to have two more appointments with me."

"Why?"

"I have to administer the potion to you, and then you still have to schedule the follow up."

"I don't understand. You have so many people on that list. Won't they all have to schedule two more with you?" He busted out laughing, nearly falling on the floor. Soon enough he sobered up, and continued.

"You're going to be my last patient today. Luna and I will just have to go back to St. Mungo's and brew more. We'll have enough for the rest of the staff by tomorrow. I can either see you again first thing tomorrow morning, or after I finish reviewing the rest of the staff." He looked at me waiting for an answer, and I didn't have one. If I did it tomorrow, I could get it over with. Or I could just wait and not have a panic attack over it. Tomorrow seems the much better choice, I mean just get it over with Hermione and **stop having internal arguments**!

"Tomorrow sounds best."

"Eager to see me again?" He laughed before putting the empty potion bottle back in the briefcase and turning back to me with his wand. He just saw the look on my face; I can't believe he said that! "I was kidding! Calm down. I have to finish though, my doctor duties await!"

"Just hurry up, will you?"

"You are feisty, Mrs. Weasley. Just sit up so I can listen to your heartbeat. I'm going to listen in the front and back. So don't freak out, but I have to reach inside your robe." My heart started racing. Where is Luna when I need her? He just conjured a muggle style stethoscope. For Merlin's sake! Why can't he just do it with his wand? All the sudden something freezing touched my back and I jumped 2 feet into the air. I think I just screamed, he's going to think I'm insane!

"Did I hurt you?" He looked honestly worried.

"No, it just scared me. That thing is freezing!"

"I'm sorry; just hold still and it'll be over before you know it." Again, I felt the cold metal against my back, but I refrained from jumping. "Just take in deep breaths, calm down." His voice was soothing, much like an angels, and I breathed in and out, feeling relaxation come over me. "Good, now I have to do the front." My heart took off on a high speed chase. He slowly slipped his hand in the front of my robes, and my breathing became rapid. His hand and the cold metal thing were right in between my breasts! Merlin, why me? Why him? His hands are so big they are literally touching my boobs, without meaning to? He's the first guy to do that, other than Ron. Merlin!

"Mrs. Weasley, you are going to have to _breathe_, relax. Think about something that will make you relax." My breathing went faster, my heart feels like it is about to slam through my chest. "Shhh, Hermione," that was the first time he's ever said my first name. "Just think about a bubble bath, a nice bubble bath and someone giving you a foot massage. Candles are lit everywhere, and it's just you two. There's intimate music playing somewhere in the background, and you just had your favorite dinner. Just think about it, it's all about you that night, because he loves you and wants to be with you how you want it. It's all about you…" his soothing voice faded off into nothingness as I was whisked away into the dream. It was so relaxing and sexy. But these aren't Ron's hands rubbing my feet; they are paler, and far less rough. But the massage felt so good, and it turned me on.

All the sudden I snapped back into reality, opening my eyes I saw Draco counting the beats while staring at his watch. He whispered the numbers aloud, and kept perfectly still. His lips were beautiful, and suddenly his touch became very warm.

"Okay," he started, pulling out of my robe, brushing over my breast a little too much, but it didn't faze me, "so I think you have an anxiety problem. Your heart beats sky rocketed to the point where you were about to pass out." He silently summoned the chair and a clipboard over so he could sit and start scribbling. "Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"Lately, yes." He scribbled furiously.

"When is the last time you had sex?"

"That is none of your business!"

"I am your doctor, so it is my business."

"Friday." I huffed out; I don't understand why he has to know! This is so stupid.

"How often do you have sex?"

"Uhm… Well…" I honestly have to think about this? This is so embarrassing? When is the last time Ron and I had sex before Friday? I think it was five years ago! "I think the last time before Friday was five years or so, give or take." He dropped his pencil, but quickly recovered, scribbling even more furiously.

"Do you have trouble eating?"

"No."

"Do you have suicidal thoughts?" He seemed to be asking questions automatically now, probably having asked them hundreds of times.

"No!"

"Well, do you pleasure yourself?"

"Certainly not!" I've always found that… awkward, to say the least.

"What do you do to occupy downtime?"

"Read." He snorted as he finished scribbling down all my answers.

"I think your problem for all your anxiety is you aren't being pleasured. You can't sleep because of your anxiety, correct?"

"I don't even know what I have anxiety over!"

"Do you fight with Ron a lot?"

I just stared at him.

"I'm taking that as a yes. You just sent your youngest off to school, correct?"

I blinked away tears, how does he know?

"Yes, again."

"Dr. Malfoy, none of this is your business. I'm fine."

"No you aren't, you know you aren't. I may not be your best friend, or even a friend at all, but I am your doctor. Your anxiety is making you unhealthy. You are fatigued from lack of sleep. You have bags under your eyes; I can tell you've been having a break down. The other night when we saw each other, your eyes were blood shot. As your doctor, I am worried. You don't deserve someone who doesn't care. Ron is messing you up. Don't tell me you guys are fine, because clearly you aren't."

I felt tears pour down my face like a water fall. My arms have thrown themselves around Draco, and I'm crying into his shoulder. What is going on? Are those seriously his hands stroking my back? Why do I like it? Why am I crying so hard? Why do I want to spend more time with Draco? Why does he understand so much? Why am I talking to myself so much?

"I'm sorry," was the only thing I could get out while I straightened up, but he still kept one hand stroking my back.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have pushed, or even said anything. But I am always here to talk, as a friend…"

"I – thank you…" I forced a smile, wondering if talking to him would be a good idea. I couldn't talk to Ginny or Harry, they cared too much, and they would tell Ron. Maybe Draco was the perfect person to talk to.

"We can finish this tomorrow. I'll write an excuse for you to leave for the rest of the day."

"You don't have to…"

"As your doctor, I'm saying you aren't allowed to work, not in this condition. I'll apparate home with you, and make up a potion to soothe you for the rest of the day."

"Okay…"

"So quickly change while I run this to the Department head."

"I am the Department head. You have to take it to the Minister, so he can clear me to leave."

"Well, I'll be right back."

I changed quickly, wondering what just happened. Was I seriously going to let him apparate home with me? Too late to change my mind now, he's already back…

"Well let's get to it. You and I are off duty." He grabbed my hand as we walked to the fireplace in my office. I could just use the Floo Network to get to work, but I preferred the main entrance. I loved looking at the Main Atrium. He threw in the Floo Powder and we walked into the flames. When I opened my eyes, I was in my house, holding hands with Draco Malfoy. I actually felt like I was hallucinating at this point, so I lied on my couch, while he went to the kitchen to make his potion.

Twenty minutes later he walked in, a cup full of red liquid in hand.

"This will knock you out until tomorrow morning. They've already notified Ron that you will be asleep when he gets home from work and not to worry about you not waking up. Your body will repair itself with this, and you'll feel loads better in the morning, which is when I scheduled the rest of your appointment." He handed the cup to me, and it smelt of cherry.

"Drink up!"

I threw back my head, and let the warm liquid flow down my throat, and then it was dark.

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><p>"<em>I am worried…" He hugged me tightly, whispering in my ear.<em>

"_You don't deserve someone who doesn't care…."He pressed his lips to mine…_

"_Ron is messing you up. Don't tell me you guys are fine, because clearly you aren't." He held my face in his tender hands, staring into my eyes._

"_But I am always here to talk, as a friend…" He doesn't want that last part like that, I know he doesn't._

_He lets go of my face, and sits back to grab my foot. We're in a tub, and bubbles are everywhere. He hits a tender spot, and works it, making me moan. This was bliss. There's music playing, and I can smell the pasta in the air. Parmesan and meat sauce float in the air too, mixed with fresh sweet rolls. He loves me… This is what I want…._

"_It's all about you," he whispers, leaning in to kiss me again… "How do you want it, Hermione? Because, tonight, it's all about you…" He pulls me under him, and kisses me with the most tenderness I've ever felt. Why was he being so careful? "I love you," he whispers, placing a loose strand of hair behind my ear._

"_I love you, too."_

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><p>The last thing before I saw light was an angel's face. He was smiling at me, and the smile was so easy for him, and his eyes danced with tears of joy. His blonde hair was tossed about his head lazily, but he was so sexy. But he was gone now, replaced with a messy red head, whose hands were rough, and didn't bring warmth.<p>

"'Mione? Are you okay?" Now that Ron brought it up, I felt wonderful. I felt like I had slept for three days straight. It was wonderful.

"Yes, actually, loads better." He suddenly sat back, looking mad.

"You didn't tell me you were sick." He threw the accusation at me harshly. I didn't know I was sick, but he wouldn't believe that.

"I just needed a good night's sleep. That's all." He huffed, and then got out of the bed.

"I'm going to work." He was still mad, but he would get over it.

"Okay then, bye!" He grunted at me then left. I ran to get ready for work, finishing in record time, and I went to my coffee machine to start my day off the right way. But when I opened it up to fill the filter basket, I saw a note folded up, address to 'Hermione Granger' in a familiar scroll. I hurriedly picked it up to read it, almost tearing the parchment.

It read:

_I hope you are feeling better. I can't wait to see you this morning. But for future use, my address Is: 2 Lethamington Way, Cambridge England. The only fireplace is in my office. I'm always home on the weekends, and I work from 7-5 on weekdays. Stop by any time I'm not scheduled to be at work, and I should be in there. Or you could owl me. See you later!_

I set down the note, completely forgetting about my coffee. Draco has really turned around hasn't he?

I went to my fireplace, and threw in the Floo Powder, and stepped straight into my office. This is the first time I've done this, and I stepped right in to see Draco waiting there for me. We smiled at each other, and I headed behind the curtain to get dressed for my check-up.

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><p>We talked casually through the rest of the examination. I drank the grossest tasting potion ever, and now I was changing back into my work clothes while Draco waited for me.<p>

I sat down at my desk, he on the other side, and I just looked at him. He looked more delectable today than he did yesterday… But I needed to focus!

"So, when are you free for my follow up?"

"Well, during work hours, I'm pretty packed right now… But at the end of the month I can actually see you in my office at St. Mungos."

"Is that a long wait for a follow up?"

"No, it's preferable, especially with toxic stuff getting out of your system. But if you feel weird, don't hesitate to owl me, or even stop by at my house."

"Sounds good," we both stood up, and I smiled at him. I stuck out my hand, "Thank you for everything." He stared at it like I had the plague. Then he grabbed it, and pulled me around my desk. Before I knew what was going on, he had me in an embrace.

"It is no problem, Hermione." When he pulled away, I swear I felt his lips brush my cheek. "I will see you later. Let's get lunch soon. Come get me whenever you want." He smiled at me, squeezed my hand, and then he was gone…

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><p><strong>Special thanks to Courtney Daisy, my ghetto-beta, for editing this chapter!<strong>

**It's so much better, and her encouragement made it appear here!**

**Review?**

**(:**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I am like _completely_ nervous about this chapter, but then again I think it's brilliant. Sorry it's been so long.**

**I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!**

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><p><em>You got a fast car,<em>

_I want a ticket to anywhere._

_Maybe we can make a deal,_

_Maybe together we can get somewhere._

Wednesday and Thursday went by extremely slow. Work was the same, and so was home. But that's basically all that's happened, nothing major or life changing… But this morning, it's Friday and I'm quite relieved, to say the least. But right when I wake up, the first thing I see is that everything is a mess, like always... Ron left his clothes on the floor again, he didn't clean out the sink after he brushed his teeth, the lid was up, and I was left to clean up everything. He even left me a polite note to make him something for lunch with a little happy face on it. But I'm not going to do it, I **refuse**. I've had enough of his laziness…

Should I tell him?

No, maybe I'm just overreacting because it's almost the weekend, and I'm just stressed from work. That's probably it. But maybe I should mention it in passing… It couldn't hurt, I mean really… But I still got myself ready, and ignored his lunch; he'd just have to get something at the Ministry.

I've never felt so rude before, nor have I ever ignored one of Ron's requests. Maybe that potion Draco gave me is really affecting me. I should probably owl him… But he'll think I'm being too pushy to see him again… I'm so frustrated; maybe I should take the first half of the day off… Personal time, away from the house, all by myself…

So I got out a piece of parchment, and began writing:

_Dear Kingsley,_

_I am so sorry, but I think I have to take the first half of the day off. I had a potion administered earlier to me this week, and I think it's coming back to haunt me. Am I cleared for the day?_

_Sincerely,_

_Hermione Weasley_

Well, that was easy enough, now just to put it on my bird…

After my brown bird swooped off into the morning light, I absentmindedly grabbed another bit of parchment, and started writing another letter.

_Dear Draco,_

_Will you be at home during lunch today?_

_-Hermione_

Well, it can't hurt; so up on to the black bird it went, and my brown bird was already returning, in record time, to deliver my message.

_Dear Mrs. Weasley,_

_The Minister has cleared you for the first half of the day._

_If you experience further complications during the day, you are free to take the full day off._

_Sincerely,_

_Hannah Abbott_

I sighed in relief, expecting worse. But I figured I would send one more owl, this time to Ron.

_Ron,_

_I'm at home sick, might stay the whole day, not sure._

_Don't worry about me._

_I'll be here when you get home from work._

_Have a good day._

_-Hermione_

I felt school girlish, but as I was folding up the parchment, a loud crash came from the living room. I threw down the piece of parchment and ran into the living room to see that the family clock Molly, Ron's mother, gave us when Rose was born was now in pieces on the floor.

"Shit," was all I could mumble before I started cleaning it up like a robot. I gathered the pieces in a bag, and called around to see who on earth could fix it before Ron got home. Finally I got hold of Ginny, which was slightly odd, seeing as she was now the coach to the Hollyhead Harpies and never home, but I brushed the weirdness away and quickly asked her where to go.

"_Well, Hermione, you can't take it __to a muggle shop, you know since it's very magical. A muggle could fix it, but it wouldn't know where you, Ron, Rose, or Hugo were, making it a pointless object…"_ She stopped to think for a moment, and I just waited patiently. _"__Dervish & Banges!"_ She shouted suddenly.

"What about it?"

"_They can totally fix it! How could you not remember that?"_

"I guess I just wasn't thinking. The fact that it broke has me completely stressed out."

"_How did it even fall off the wall?"_ Good question…

"I actually have no clue, to be honest. I probably put it on a nail and didn't use any magic to hold it up. Silly me." We both chuckled together before I decided I had to go. "Well, thank you so much Ginny! I'm really sorry but I should go to Diagon Ally and get this fixed before Ron get's home from work."

"_Wait! Hermione, Dervish and Banges is in Hogsmeade…" _Really? Crap, I'm losing my brain.

"Silly me, again, I think it's this potion still."

"_You should probably lie down, I'm worried about you."_

"I'll be fine Ginny, but I have to go. Sorry. Talk to you later! Bye!" I slammed the phone down on the receiver then placed the back of my hand on my forehead. I don't feel hot. Maybe I'm not sick… But where is Draco's letter? He hasn't even written me back! Today is so weird…

* * *

><p>Around noon, I decided it was time to go to Hogsmeade, so I walked to the edge of my yard and apparated onto the familiar street. It really was beautiful here, you can see Hogwarts off in the distance, and it will bring tears to your eyes. I really miss that place. But off to Dervish I went, and it was really crowded with people, but I was glad to see none were students, my kids would've killed me if they thought I had come here to spy on them.<p>

As I entered the shop a loud, deep, Irish voice called out to me, "'Ermione! So nice to see ye in me shop!"

I didn't see the man until I turned to walk around a pile of broken objects, and there stood Seamus Finnegan with the biggest smile on his face. "Seamus! It is so good to see you," I squealed running up to hug him.

"You too, 'las. 'Ow long 'as it been? Yer lookin' better every time!"

"It's been way too long. You are still just as goofy though!"

He's always been one of the sweetest guys at Hogwarts along with Harry, and he, also, was the subject of many bathroom conversations. His looks became even better with age, but I've always loved him for who he is, except his player side. He dated a bunch through school, and a ton out of it. But I haven't gotten to see him much, but seeing him working here was a surprise.

"What brings you here, 'las?"

"Well, my mother-in-law gave me one of those clocks that keeps track of where everyone in the family is at, and it might have jumped off the wall."

"'Oi 'las, 'ow did ye manage that?" He exclaimed when I took out all the broken pieces from my bag and laid them on his counter top.

"I told you it jumped off the wall!" I giggled a bit before biting my lip and moving forward. "Do you think you can fix it?" He picked them up and examined them, carefully setting them down and picking up another.

"I might can, 'las. And I'll even give yer a discount fer lookin' so yummy." I couldn't help but laugh at that one; he's always been such a charmer.

"Seamus, you are the cutest man alive." I started laughing before he grabbed his chest.

"'Oi, way to stomp on me ego there, 'las. You might 'ave to pay full price now fer callin' me cute." He winked at me before continuing. "But let me think 'bout that while I fix this fer ya. Go eat at tha Three Broomsticks er somethin. I'll be done in a couple o' hours."

"Thank you so much, Seamus! I'll eat and shop around!"

And that's exactly what I did for two hours. I visited the Three Broomsticks, Scrivenshaft's, Zonko's, and then finally the Post Office. I got Hugo and Rose a couple of things and sent them their gifts before heading back to Dervish and Banges.

"'Oi 'las! I'm done! Look at it, brand new!" He held it up with a grin on his face, and I must admit it did look brand new.

"Again, thank you so much, Seamus! How much do I owe you?"

"Eh, two galleons 'ill be enough fer me."

"How about three and lunch some time?"

"'Oi, 'las, I couldn't ask ye to do that fer me ever. I'll take ye out to lunch soon though. Ye have to see me wife." He smiled _really_ big at that one. I never even thought to ask.

"I bet she's lovely. I have to go though. Owl me when you're available!" I hugged him then kissed him on the cheek. "It was so nice seeing you! Goodbye!"

He shouted goodbye after me, and I just apparated straight home, and hurried inside to put up the clock. This time I used a charm to make it stick forever, and then backed up and smiled. A huge yawn erupted from my mouth, and I decided work was not an option anymore, so I lay down to take a slight nap.

* * *

><p>"Hermione, you blubbering <em>bitch<em>!" I was startled awake by the sound of slamming doors and Ron shouting. He never yells. He's so easy going 99% of the time… This can't be good.

"What did I do?" He stomped into the living room as I stood up, and rushed over to me sticking a finger in my face.

"_You,_ one: didn't even tell _me_ you weren't going in to work today, but you told my _sister_ who called _me_ worried _sick_ about you." What is he talking about… I did tell him? "She said you couldn't remember anything and that you weren't acting yourself at all! Two: you didn't even make me a sandwich, to eat at work! Did you not think of me at all! There I was waiting at noon for you to come to the lunch market at work, and you _never_ showed up. I don't even think you've ever missed a day of work! **How could you not tell me?**!"

"Ron, you're being completely illogical about a **sandwich!** Sorry I wasn't feeling good today! I think that potion is still doing weird things to me!"

"I don't care about a damn potion that was supposed to wear off three damn days ago! You weren't even going to tell _me _you were sick!" At that moment, it hit me what he was talking about. I _never_ sent the letter I wrote! I threw it down before I got a chance.

"Damn clock," I whispered, and that really set him off.

"**What did you say to me?"** He got frighteningly closer to me, I could feel his hot breath permeate across my face as he said,** "Hermione you are such an arrogant, know-it-all bitch!**" Ouch, that was a punch in the gut. Tears welled up in my eyes. I had to show him the letter; he had to know I tried. I turned to go get the letter, and ran back, hoping he would see this was all a silly mistake. I handed it to him, he cast a look that could kill towards me, and I waited. He huffed, and I knew the letter had changed nothing, I knew from the look on his face, he was beyond mad.

"You wrote it, but you couldn't even send it?" He said through gritted teeth. It was coming, the explosion, I knew it.

"I got sidetracked," my voice sounded so small, but I knew what was coming.

"How the hell could you get sidetracked, Hermione? Huh? I would love to know what your dumbass excuse is because none of this is making sense to me."

"Right before I was going to send it, your mother's clock broke." He got right in my face that moment, so close I could smell him.

"You broke my mother's clock…" He said, alarmingly calm with a hint of hysteria. The sting of the tears behind my eyes proved unmistakable. This was the angriest I had ever experienced Ron, at least with me. Yes, we had had our fair share of fights, but none like this. The worst part was the fact that he truly had no reason to be this angry with me. His face was so red and his veins in his head and neck were popping out.

"You filthy _mudblood,_" was all he said before I even realized my hand was stinging its mark onto his cheek. I backed suddenly away, expecting retaliation. His face was the perfect mold of pure shock. I kept backing up, expecting to hit something soon, as I watched the skin on his face procure a red handprint on his right cheek. We kept staring at each other as I slowly walked backwards; it felt as if a millennium was passing us by. He was still staring at me, as I reached for the powder next to the fireplace and flung it in. Ron raised his hand and placed it ever so gently on his cheek. His eyes were still so wide, like saucers on his face. He whimpered out, "Hermione?" whilst shaking his head. I knew he couldn't believe it; I couldn't either. He took a step towards me, but I took a step back into the fireplace. His face morphed from the stupid surprise into a sadness I felt in my heart.

The last thing I saw was a tear streak down his red glistened cheek, before I appeared in Draco's office at his house.

* * *

><p>It was like he was waiting for me, because when I appeared in his fireplace he was standing there staring at it, watching. I don't know why, but I ran to him, I ran into his arms which he opened almost too protectively. Next second, I was bawling on his shoulder, and he didn't say anything. I never have had such solace with a man, even Harry, whom I only openly cried in front of after 3 or 4 years of getting close to him. But here I was in Draco's arms, crying my eyes out, and he just held me, stroked my back, and whispered words that I was too loud to hear… As comforting as this was, I can't help but wonder why all of this was happening…<p>

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I cried, but Draco slowly moved us over to a couch, and I had my head in his lap while he stroked my hair. I had the hiccups now after crying so long, but I think I dried my eyes out. The tears wouldn't come, but it felt like I should cry more. All I could see was Ron's shock, Ron's red stained skin, Ron's single tear… I started sobbing dryly, and Draco stopped stroking my hair to pick me up and lay my head on his shoulder. He made circles on my back while I cried, and he started saying random things that I only heard as broken phrases.<p>

"…. You don't deserve this…" "…I wish I could fix you…" "…Hermione, please…" "… stop loving him…"

"Draco…" I said groggily… My throat burned, for I had cried it raw, and I didn't want to talk anymore after I came to the realization of how much it hurt to say his name.

"Yes, Hermione…" he whispered, tilting my head so I could look at him.  
>"Why do you care?" Why did I even ask that question? A look spread across his face filled with hurt and confusion.<p>

"Why would you ask me that?" Another good question someone had asked today.

"Because, you used to hate me and -" My voice got raspy to the point I was about to lose it.

"Shhh." He said rocking me back and forth. "You need to stop accusing me of that. I don't **hate** you, nor have I ever. I simply was raised to dislike you, but now I see the terribleness in that, and I don't see how you are here now. You've always been so much better than me in every aspect, and that made me dislike you even more! Not only were you muggle born, but you outsmarted me and outdid me in every part of magic conceivable. And how arrogant I was! I put you down without even feeling bad about that, and then I watched you display what being a Gryffindor is when you took the cruciatus curse for your friends. Seeing that, I realize I could have never been anything good, anything worthy of a Gryffindor, mainly because I thought I could never do that for my friends, never take a curse so willingly. But you, you Hermione, are amazing, and I'm so sorry for ever putting you down. But I never expected to _care_ about you so much. If this was anyone else, I would've spouted off my advice and told them to leave, but you, I feel like I _need_ to stay here and comfort you. With you I _feel_ like I can be good. So I've never hated you, I just was a small school boy who was raised wrong, and didn't know how to handle my own jealousy." He stopped and I wasn't sure if there was more he wanted to say…

"I forgive you." Was all I could force out of my raspy throat.

"You need to go to sleep, and in the morning I'll check on your throat. I'm going to go make some medicine; I'll be right over there. I conjured a bed, and there is a curtain over there you can change behind. I hope the clothes fit you." With that he got up, and went to work on my medicine and I went towards the curtain. I felt groggy and distant, like he'd already given me something even though he hadn't. The clothes fit loosely, yet wonderfully. They smelled like him, leading me to the conclusion these are his clothes that were too small for him to wear. I smiled at this, and crawled into bed. Not long after Draco lied in bed next to me, holding a honey yellow potion in his hand.

"Drink up, beautiful. We need you all better." He smiled at me and handed it over. I took a swig, expecting nasty potion, but instead I got something delightful and sweet. I set the glass down on the bed side table and lied down up against his body.

"Thanks." My raspy voice sounded slightly better, but it was still mildly painful to talk.

"Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer it until tomorrow morning if your voice hurts too much tonight. But, what happened, Hermione? You've had me worried sick, but I didn't want to push it out of you." He looked at me protectively, hoping to Merlin that Ron hadn't hit me probably.

"Something changed between Ron and me, but I'm not sure what it is…" I didn't know how to finish, or if my voice would even allow me to. But I decided to add one thing, just one so he would know how serious this was. "I slapped him across the face." I said it bluntly, uncaring almost, but that was only how I sounded. Tears welled up in my eyes at the thought of his face again, how could I do that? Draco, seeing my hurt, pulled me in closer to him and started soothing me. As soon as I stopped crying I was drifting off to sleep. Draco kept talking to me though…

"I wish I could fix this; I wish you could see that he's never been right for you; you deserve someone who can appreciate you, and you deserve someone that knows how beautiful you are and will tell you every day. I may not fit all the criteria in your books," he muffled a slight cry, like he was pleading, "but damn it, Hermione, I wish I did. I wish I would've saved you from that curse so many years ago. I wish I would've opened my eyes more and gotten to know you. I'll wait though, I'll wait here for you to realize you deserve so much better… I wish before that moment in my manor I would have realized I was so deeply…" I'm not sure what he said next, but I went into a deep sleep, and I dreamt great dreams…

* * *

><p>"<em>Good morning, my love." The blonde man smiled brightly at me as I sat in his lap. "How did you sleep?" I wrapped my arms around his neck before giving him a quick kiss and smiling as big as I could back to him.<em>

"_Brilliantly!" And it was the honest truth because I was with him._

"_You say that every morning, you know." He gave me a quizzical look, but I just giggled._

"_Because every morning I wake up next to you." Tears glossed his eyes, and his smile became so rich and radiant with light that I imagined he was a kid getting everything he ever wanted on a Christmas morning. And with that, I slammed my mouth onto his, feeling his grip tighten around me, pulling me as close as I could get, and we giggled at each other before continuing. Then he hoisted me up and walked into the bedroom, still kissing me, and laid us down on the bed. After another few moments of delightful kissing, he pulled away and brushed my loose strands of hair away from my face while smiling at me._

"_Have I ever told you, I could never love someone as deeply the way I love you?" I smiled at this, knowing he's told me every day since the first time he ever uttered the three worded phrase._

"_Yes, and have I ever told you that saying I love you is the only way that it is humanly possible to say how I feel about you? Because, honestly, no words could even conceive describing how I feel about you." With this he took me into his arms, and under the covers, to explore the blissfulness of our bodies as one, and totally in love._

* * *

><p>Morning came, dreadfully, but promisingly, the next morning and so did the realization that I couldn't keep running away from all my problems.<p>

"I made you some coffee. This muggle invention is in fact the best one I have come across yet. What a fine way to wake up your senses yet totally relax you!" Draco told me while sitting on the couch I imagine that we were on last night.

"What time is it?" My throat felt loads better, but still had a hint of scratchiness to it.

"11 in the morning." He said bluntly, the tone change in his voice was eerie. Something was off. I must have said something wrong. I climbed out of the bed, but my legs didn't want to walk, so down to the ground I crashed, and moments later hands were hoisting me up. "Nasty side effect you got there. It'll wear off in a little while. Do you need anything? I made you breakfast, but I didn't know what you liked so I made a wide array of choices for you." At the mention of this, I followed his hand to the mini buffet he had prepared for me.

Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, boiled eggs with soldiers, porridge, crumpets, treacle tarts, and cauldron cakes were offered to me, with tea and coffee. I smiled at his consideration and made my way over to the coffee. I must admit, this was loads better than Ron's coffee, but still not as silky smooth as mine, but I would live. I grabbed one of everything, so he wouldn't be hurt by my pickiness, and I dug in. He already had a plate for himself made on the table, so I assumed he was waiting to eat with me, and that he did. We didn't talk much, but it was more peaceful than it was awkward. He finished right before me so he could grab my plate and go wash it, which when I protested about he just laughed.

"Draco! You need to stop being such a gentleman!" He laughed really hard at this as he came back into his office.

"You don't hear women complain about that too often." He smiled at me as he sat next to me on the couch, wrapping an arm around me. It wasn't awkward; it was in a loving way, which made me remember last night. I recalled all that he said before I drifted off into my slumber.

"_I wish I could fix this__;__ I wish you could see that he's never been right for you__…"__ "I may not fit all the criteria in your books, but… I wish I did." "I'll wait though, I'll wait here for you to realize you deserve so much better…" _ "_I wish before that moment in my manor I would have realized I __**was so deeply…."**_What was he going to say… I'm so confused right now…

"Draco, I think I should go…" I tried to sound sad about it, which in part I was, but I really needed to think about things. He looked slightly hurt and took his arm away from my shoulders, making me feel like I had kicked him in the gut.

"Why?" He tried to sound unhurt, but I could hear it subtly.

"I need to stop running away from my problems, but thank you for being my fortress tonight." With this I stood up and beckoned him to do the same. "You truly are a changed man. Please, let's hang out again. This time it will be sans tears, I swear." I lifted up my hand and held out my thumb to him. I could see how unsure he was and he just looked into my eyes confused. "It's a thumb swear, how could you ever trust a pinky to hold all your promises when it's so small. Just wrap your thumb around mine like you would do with a pinky promise, it's the same gesture, just this way I know the promise will be kept." We smiled at each other as he wrapped his thumb around mine.

"Just know, if you ever need me, if you ever are hurt, I'm just…this is going to sound cheesy…but I'm just a fireplace away." He smiled at me before leaning down to hug me and whispering in my ear, "I care so much about you Hermione…" He bit his lip, wanting, **needing** to say more, but he didn't.

"Bye, Draco. I'll see you soon." He kissed my cheek before I walked into the fireplace, and into my home…

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my gosh, what did you think?<strong>

**Raise your hand if you just love Seamus! (I did)**

**There is just so much to deal with in this chapter, I know.**

**And there are parts where I totally left you hanging, and I left the most subtle hints to an important point in the plotline. I _really_ hope you like it though.**

**I worked hard on it.**

**And a HUGE special thanks to Courtney Daisy!**

**She was a HUGE help on the fight scene and editing!**

**Give her some love!**

**Review? please (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long to update this! I was slightly nervous, but don't hate me for what happened! Oh, and just so you know, there is a great scene between Harry and Hermione in this chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Would someone care to classify our broken hearts and twisted minds<em>_  
><em>_So I can find someone to rely on and run__ t__o them,_

_To them, full speed ahead_

My house was riddled with stagnant air that twisted and turned as I walked through it. It was quiet, what time was it? The clock on the stove suggested it was almost 11 a.m... Where was Ron?

"Hermoine," called a strained voice from the master bedroom, sounding scratchier than mine, and more drained. I took a deep breath in, smelling slight hints of alcohol. I walked up the stairs slowly, not wanting this to happen, not if Ron had been drinking.

"Yes, it's me." That was all I could say before I heard him sigh in relief and fall back onto the bed. I opened the door to see the place had been trashed, and his cheek was feathered with a slight bruise from where I hit him. Tears sprang to my eyes to see how much of a mess he was, but I couldn't walk forward and comfort him, I was scared of what might happen if I did.

Minutes passed slowly, the ticks of the clock felt like they came and went further and further apart from the last. I simply stared at Ron sprawled out on the bed, him staring at the ceiling, expecting the worst.

"Please come here," he said it barely in a whisper, barely even at all. I moved my legs forward though, willing myself to close the distance that we've been experiencing for months now. We had to fix this, Draco said I deserved better, but what he didn't see was that Ron **could** be better, and I knew it.

He softly patted the empty space of mattress next to him, wanting me to lie down there, but the dreadful smell of alcohol almost consumed me. So I stayed standing next to the bed, just watching tears spring up in his eyes.

Without looking at me he whispered, brokenly, "please," while rubbing the empty space next to him again. A tear slid down my cheek, knowing how much I broke him yesterday killed me. So I lied down next to him, not letting myself relax, which he must have felt because he grabbed my hand and stroked it before turning on his side to finally look at me full in the face. If the smell of him didn't scare me, his bloodshot expression should. His eyes were beyond recognition, for they were bloodshot so bad that you couldn't see the white's of his eyes'. He breathed out and I could clearly taste what he had consumed last night while I looked at his pallid skin before wandering back to his eyes.

"I am so sorry about what I said," he told me brokenly before sobbing into my shoulder, "I don't know what happened to me," he began again after he sobered up. "I have just felt like I have been losing you 'Mione and you don't know how terrifying that is…" He broke into another weep, trying to find comfort against my rigid body.

I couldn't accept it, I don't know why I just made that decision, but I did. His folly wasn't one that could be easily forgiven, but how could I tell him that? I don't want to break his heart, but what he said couldn't be fixed with one apology, nor could it be fixed with that excuse. I wasn't sure if it could be fixed at all, and I wasn't sure if he was still open to forgive me, because when you're drunk it doesn't answer the problem, just makes you forget the question. So right now, he probably couldn't even remember why **he** was mad at me, which I don't even know why he was mad, but he thought about me being mad at him all night. I can't talk to him while he's drunk, we'll get nowhere.

I don't know how long I gazed blindly at his face, for my brain was elsewhere in a totally different planet, but he finally broke again into his tired sobbing before trying to talk to me. "Mione, please, _please_, talk to me. Please forgive me…" He grabbed for my shoulders as I sat up, shaking my head at him. Tears rushed like waterfalls down my cheeks, and my throat felt like someone had their fist clenched tightly around it.

"Ron," I said brokenly at him, knowing I couldn't forgive him. He made me feel like scum on the bottom of his shoe with one phrase. Well, that one phrase really finalized it in my head, I guess, because right after he said it, it broke me as much as I broke him when my palm made contact with his skin. I am tired of feeling so ran over by him, so controlled, and so scared. He followed me as I got up, nearly falling in his drunken stupor to get me back.

"Ron, stop…" He was rushing at me now; anger in his eyes from Merlin knows what. "Ron!" There he was in my face again, just staring hardly into my eyes, which I fought to keep from weeping from fear.

Suddenly his face softened and he went to hug me, but I sidestepped him, which cause him to drop his head and his shoulders, defeated.

"Hermione, why?" He sounded like a lost child, so broken, so hurt, and it was my entire fault. "Why can't you forgive me…?" His voice cracked as he looked at me, his eyes threatening to release a floodgate of water.

"Ron, I – Ron I don't know if I can forgive you for hurting me the way you did..." I couldn't look at him after I said it, after the words escaped my lips my eyes darted southward, seeing his feet come into view I cringed, expecting the worse.

Suddenly he held me up against the wall in our bedroom, hands pinning my shoulders back with unmistakable force. There was no way I could get away.

"Look at me," he threatened, and I willed my head, which felt a million pounds heavier, to look at him. "**You** can't forgive **me** for hurting** you**?" He said it almost incredulously, laughing manically at the end, sending my heart into overdrive. "Look, at my face, Hermione… **Look at it!**" He screamed at my intolerant eyes, **forcing** them to stare at his face, look at every feature in high definition. "Do **you** _see_ that?" He pointed at his bruise, which was black, purple, blue, and yellowed around the edges. I nodded my head, afraid to speak, but too captivated to look away. Did I really do that?

"You see, Hermione," he spat my name at me, making me feel even worse than I already did, "I – hahaha – I did **not** hit you, you see, but you popped me right upside the head. Now, tell me, is that not hurting me at all? Along with lying, and just blatant disregard of anything I asked you to do… Is that not the utmost hurt you can cause… Shit, Hermione, you **slapped** me! What the hell?"

I just shook my head, he was an _idiot_, and did he really misconstrue everything that happened so it would turn on me? My anger was rising, taking away the fear, and replacing it with fury.

"Are you a blubbering **idiot**, Ronald? You have been treating me like crap for _months_ and now **you** want to blame it on **me**? How in hell did I deserve any of this? Open your eyes, Ron, like I did. Not everything is perfect, this is the **real** world, obviously something you will _never_ grasp." I shoved him off of me, pointing my finger wildly in his face. "Just because one day I don't do one thing that you've asked me to does **not** give you any right to call me the worst names in the book, Ronald! Just because you're so damn insecure and too lazy to do anything yourself doesn't make **me **a logical victim at all! You deserved that slap in the face, but you don't deserve my forgiveness. Especially not now and maybe even never!" With that I ran to the fireplace, hearing drunken clamoring behind me as I hurdled down the stairs.

"Hermione, please don't leave me! Hermione!" That was the last scream I heard before I threw myself into the fireplace, thinking of Harry and Ginny before rolling to a stop in their living room.

"Harry! What was that?" I heard Ginny scream from in the depths of Grimmauld Place, before Harry ran out of his office defensively. His shoulders immediately relaxed when he saw me on the floor, but fear was muddled with anxiety on his face when he saw my cascading tears. He instantly ran over to me, picking me up in one sweep and bouncing onto the couch with me in his arms, hardly even jostling me. He immediately started brushing strands of wet hair out of my face, and shushing my cries which I muffled into his shoulder. He protectively held me closer and called out to Ginny, who came immediately to his call. They worked as one to get me cleaned up and calmed down.

"Hermione," Ginny whispered my name, stroking my face to look at her. I had the loveseat to myself so I could lie down, and Harry sat nervously on the recliner waiting for me to say something. I've been staring blankly at the fireplace for Merlin knows how long, and Ginny had moved to the floor in front of me in her impatience. "Hermione, please. You have to talk to one of us or both of us. We're here for you. Please tell us what's wrong, we're so worried." Her hand stopped to caress my cheek, as she looked to find happiness in my eyes, but I shut them. I shut her out and I just wanted to shut the world out.

Everything around me was falling, tumbling away, and changing so fast I didn't know which way to look. Who do I go to next to make me feel better? Who would even understand what I was going through? This part of life is so hard and difficult, everything is crumbling down at once and I don't seem to have a hand to hold. Except maybe Draco, he told me he cares so much about me. I know I can go to him if Harry and Ginny can't help, but I'm nervous to tell Ginny. She's related to Ron and I don't want to turn blood siblings against each other, even if it is indirectly.

"Ginny," my voice cracked, but I didn't open my eyes to look at her, not yet.

"Yes, Hermione?" I could tell she looked hopeful, like she had made a breakthrough.

"Promise you won't be mad at me…"

"I promise but, Hermione, what is it?" I finally opened my eyes to look at her, she looked so worried, but I couldn't tell her.

"I – I want to talk to Harry alone… I just, I need guy advice from a guy… you know?" She looked broken at that statement, but nodded her head and got up to leave. She whispered something in Harry's ear, which he nodded in compliance before moving to sit next to me on the loveseat. I heard the door shut, opening my eyes again, to see Harry just looking at the embers of a fire he had burned not long before.

"You know, Sirius used to check on me at Hogwarts through that fire, like a guardian angel or something. He always wanted to make sure I was alright." He smiled at the memory, not looking at me, but still looking at the embers from his past. "I always looked up to him, Sirius that is, because he had the determination to do what he promised my father he would do the moment I was born, and that was watch over me. You know, a long time ago, Ron asked me to watch over you. If I can recall it correctly, he looked at me straight in the eyes and said, 'Protect her like you would protect my sister.' I already did that, but now I couldn't just stop, you know? I couldn't turn back on a promise like that, because that would be a dishonor to Sirius's memory." He stopped, letting the silence take us over, and we both held in a breath remembering Sirius. Harry lazily put his arm around me, in comfort I presumed, and stared at me at me full in the face, his eyes full of knowing.

"I haven't backed down one day from that promise, not one day have I not called Ron and asked how you were, or went and peeked at you in the Ministry when Ron wasn't quite sure. And there hasn't been one day in the last month or so that I haven't stuck my face in that fireplace, like Sirius did so long ago, and try to watch over you. Ron's been worried sick, Hermione. And I hate watching this happen to you two, but I also don't understand it. I wish you two would work whatever this is out, because, Hermione, when push comes to shove, I was asked to protect **you**. I don't want to choose my friends, or have to hurt Ron, because that would hurt Ginny and me. I love you, Hermione. And I want my two best friends to love each other too." I deeply admired him in that moment, not because of how much he loved me, but the ways that he showed it. Harry is truly the best friend you could ever ask for, but he doesn't understand what it's like to fight all the time. He doesn't understand what it's like to be in an imperfect relationship. He never has, and I don't think he'll get anything that I'm about to tell him.

"Harry, I love you, too, first of all." I smiled at him, which he politely returned, but then waited for more. "And thank you for checking on me, it really means a lot, but what's going on between Ron and me… well, to say it's complicated, as cliché as it is, it is the truth of the matter. What he's said to me and what I've done or said to him cannot be taken back. We must reap what we sewed, and as hard as it is, it's what has to be done. I know you can't perceive a bad relationship, but that's because your heart is so good, so pure, and so is Ginny's. You guys have the perfect relationship from the inside to the outside. But Ron and I have problems, major problems, that can't be worked out with an 'I'm sorry and I love you.' Our problems are too deep for that. You don't know our relationship as intimately as we do, you and Ginny don't wear the chains that we drag around with us every day. I love you for your compassion, but I can't just fix Ron and me so quickly, so easily." He contemplated what I said for a minute then nodded his head before looking back at the embers.

"Can I ask you something, Hermione?" He still didn't look at me, but I continued to stare at him, wondering what was going on in that head of his.

"Yes, you can ask me anything." He slowly turned his head back to look at me, worry etched on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, and then shook his head for a moment. He was having an inner battle with himself, but I didn't push him.

"If you knew I wouldn't be able to ever give you the right answer, or ever even understand, why did you come here?" It was a good question, and he didn't mean it rudely either, it was just an honest question.

"I think I needed comfort, Harry, not someone who can understand it. I think I just needed someone who would guide me down a path that's right… or something like that." I wasn't sure if that made sense at all, but Harry did help a lot. He's been my constant in my life, since we were 11. He knows what to say without really even saying it at all, or knowing what he's even supposed to be talking about. "You have the greatest heart, Harry. Thank you so much for protecting me," I stood up to give him a hug, which he quickly followed suit.

"Hermione, if you're ever lost or need someone, I'll be your Sirius. Never forget that, please." His eyes shimmered in the light with a tear I knew he would never shed, not in my company anyway.

"I won't." All I could offer him was a smile, because even though he was my constant, I had someone else who could understand better, and cared for me just the same. "But I should go, Harry. If you need me, I won't be at my house. But your owl always knows where I am, you know crazy magic stuff. Just owl me."

"If you promise to do the same?" He looked at me quizzically, making sure I would tell the truth.

"Always."

* * *

><p>I arrived in Draco's huge office, and he wasn't home, I presumed, so I got to take an actual look around the vast room. It would've been my dream when I was younger, and still is my dream, but when you have kids you can't really pick up a book and read too often. But here, Draco had hundreds, if not thousands, of books on bookshelves from floor to the two story high ceiling. It was like the room could fit half of my house in it, if not all of it. The bed didn't look out of place at all, neither did the dining table, or anything else he put in the room to accommodate me.<p>

After looking around the room, I discovered the door slightly ajar, wondering what the rest of the house looked like. I hadn't heard anyone in the house, so what would it hurt to just look around…right?

The hall leading to the library/office was huge, and filled with paintings and sculptures that were too exquisite for my taste in houses. But Draco pulled it off, his wife must have designed it all, which, speaking of, appeared in a medium sized portrait randomly placed in the hallway. Pansy Parkinson looked prettier as she got older, that was a definite yes, and she was almost the exact opposite of Draco. His hair was angel white, while hers was nearly jet black. He was long, slender, yet built, and she was short, stubby, and a little too scrunchy for my taste.

But that was the only picture I saw of her, the rest, that were family related, were riddled with Draco and his son. My favorite picture of them was one where they were both mid laughter, but it's not one of those fake laughter things you do for photo shoots, they're actually having a blast together. I haven't even asked about his son, Scorpious, mainly because I never particularly liked the kid. He was too mean to my daughter for my liking, but Draco seemed to love the kid very much, I wonder if he would light up when he talked about him…?

At the center of the grand hall were stairs to either continue upwards, or go south into the main floor of the house. I decided to skip the stairs for now, and see what the gigantic doorway at the other end of the hallway held. When I finally got to the huge doorway I noticed that it must be a master bedroom of sorts because the door was cracked enough that I could peak in and not bother anything. The bedroom was tidy, and it was probably the biggest bedroom I had seen in my life. It had a very gothic manor tone to it, and it made me want to go and relax on the oversized bed.

But I didn't want to go fully into the room, so I slipped away and made my descent downstairs, once again feeling stagnant air of a house being billowed out around as I wandered through the living room, den, parlor, kitchen, dining room, breakfast area, covered outdoor eating area, and peaking at a couple of bathrooms. This house was enormous and by the time I reached the second floor again, I decided to go back and lie down in the library/office before I even **thought** about going upstairs.

* * *

><p>I must have dozed off during my slight resting period because when I opened my eyes Draco was lying next to me with his eyes closed, humming songs to me. I smiled at his adorableness, and joined him by closing my eyes too and just listening to the melodies. Soon he started to hum silly songs that finally made me giggle, and when I opened my eyes I saw the amusement written all over his face.<p>

"I knew you were awake for awhile there," he told me while brushing a strand of hair back and smiling at me. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"It was peaceful, and I just needed peace." He laid his hand on the side of my face, looking deep into my eyes.

"What could you possibly need peace from?" I let a long breath out, knowing this was it; this was my time to finally get everything off my chest.

"Well, it's time I told you, because you deserve to know, and you're the only person I feel like I can even tell." I looked at him full on the face, which he offered a full face smile to encourage me. I rolled over on my back, and closed my eyes, not wanting to see what his face looked like when I told him things, and not wanting him to see me tear up.

"Hermione, you can trust me." And with that, came everything.

"Well, Ron and I were great at the start, honestly. But then after I had Rose, I just didn't want to have sex or anything with a baby in the house, and that's when he first started his decline into being so bitter all the time. Then there was that one time we conceived Hugo, and that is honestly the last time I remember having sex with him before a couple of weeks ago. But even before a couple of weeks ago, Ron has just been _lazy_, and he's been running me over like he was in a monster truck tournament. But I guess he snapped the other day, and when I say the other day, I mean when you gave me that medication in the first place. He was _so_ mad that I was sick and _I_ didn't tell him! **I** didn't even know I was sick! And then he ignored me for awhile, but gosh, Friday…" This is where I faltered; this is where I knew Draco would get pissed. I just clamped my eyes even tighter together, hoping and praying my voice didn't give me away if I got choked up. But I trucked on, "I woke up and I didn't feel good at all, so I owled you, the Ministry, and then I went to owl Ron, but that damn clock in the living room broke. So I never sent it because I was too distracted… Anywho, I wake to Ronald coming home screaming at me, calling me a bitch, a dumbass, and yelling at me for **not** making him a sandwich…" Draco snorted at this, obviously mad, but I had to keep going. "Then when I told him his mother's clock broke, he lost it. At first he was calm; you know the saying, the calm before the storm, well that was Ron. Then, without even acting like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary he – he…" I wasn't sure if I could tell him. I didn't know what he would do, or what he would say. So there I stopped, just hoping he wouldn't make me say it.

"Hermione," he said through clenched teeth. I could tell he was rigid without even opening my eyes, I wasn't even sure he was on the bed anymore. "Hermione, tell me **now**." Nope, he was not on the bed, but a small cry escaped from my lips as I opened them to tell him the reality I still can't accept.

"He called me a filthy mudblood, like it was nothing…" Suddenly, as I started sobbing, Draco's whole body was under mine, cradling me against him. "But – but Draco, there's more… I – I slapped him, and then came here, but I went back today and…" I buried my face into his chest before finishing the rest of the story. "He scared me so much, he was so drunk and I – and I told him I couldn't forgive him…" I finished the story while pulling myself closer into Draco, feeling warmth I haven't felt in awhile. He just sat there, rubbing my back, thinking.

We sat there for at least an hour, just holding each other, before he finally decided to speak in a very raspy tone.

"I just want you to know, Hermione, that I am _so, so,__** so **_sorry I ever called you that nasty word. I'm sorry I ever hurt you, and trust me; it hurts me now to even _think_ of how horrible I was to you. You are such an intelligent, beautiful, caring woman. You don't deserve that, I **know** you don't, so don't tell me otherwise. I know you want to work things out with him, why wouldn't you? You've been married for almost twenty years! But sometimes, Hermione, your heart tells you more of what you need to do than anyone else can. I _wish_ to Merlin I could help you, but I can't! You have to decide whether or not **you** want to forgive him. But just know that I care **so** much about you, and I want what's best for you. So I'm sorry I can't help you decide, but this is all you honey. Just know how amazing you are, because if you don't remember that, then all you'll want to do is please Ron, and he treats you like you don't deserve anything." He took in a breath, and I know he wanted to say something so important, but he wouldn't let down his wall. "Just know, if you choose to go back to him, I will still be here to hold you when he doesn't, make you laugh when he can't, wipe away your tears when he won't, and sing to you when you need peace. I will be your fortress if you want me to be, but you just have to promise me you will remember how much I care about you." We sat there for awhile, both contemplating what he said. I know he wants what is best for me, but even I don't know what that is right now. "Hermione," he said brokenly. "Please stay with me tonight, you don't need to go back there, not if Ron was scaring you." I nodded in agreement, nestling closer to him as we lay together on the bed.

"Draco," I mumbled, feeling awful about coming to him about all my problems, "this will get better." I don't know if I meant it as a question or a statement, but I still said it, hoping and praying it was true.

"Says the moose," he murmured before looking back at me with softest smile I've ever seen plastered on his face before. He knew how to comfort me with just a look that pierced right through my soul. It's like he could see right through my exterior, into what really mattered. Whatever that phrase meant, he said it with an endearing tenderness. It made me tear up as I laid my head back across his chest. I didn't want to ruin the moment and ask what it meant, so I just sat still while he hummed _Fix You_ by Coldplay and stroked my back.

"Thank you," I whispered into his chest, before closing my eyes and succumbing to his soothing heartbeat.

* * *

><p><em>He grabbed my hand, pulling me out onto the sidewalk. "No one will care, don't worry so much."<em>

_I stumbled out onto the sidewalk from the small café, dreading the walk we were about to make to a small store. I love him, I do, but I felt so bad for Ron. I didn't want him to find out this way, find out from a snapshot on the front of __**The Prophet**__. But there I went walking; trying to look down as I held the hand of the man I love. People stopped a couple of times, and others questioned if it was really us. Draco would just smile at them, him being in a totally chipper mood since this was the first outing we had made together as a couple._

_Soon enough we were in the safe confines of a small shop ran by Luna's daughter and Draco led me straight to the back of the shop._

"_See, that wasn't bad" He said, lifting my chin to touch his soft lips to mine. "I know you don't want him to find out like this, but he's going to find out eventually. It'll all be fine." He gave me an encouraging smile as I let out a huff, frustrated that I cared so much about him. It made him laugh and tell me, "You are something else. Are you mad because you're finally proving to me that you __**care**__?" He gave me a quizzical look, before telling me it was time to go home._

_We apparated straight into our bedroom, __and__ he quickly picked me up bridal style to take me to the bed. He kissed me all over my face, setting me into a fit of giggles._

"_You know I love you right?"_

"_You know it pisses me off how much I love you too…" He was set into a nonstop laughter, until he realized my somber expression._

"_Thank you so much for today. You have no idea how much that meant to me." He kissed me passionately on the lips, molding into the rest of my body._

"_You know," I mumbled into his lips, "I care about you, and I love you. Thank you for being my fortress."_

"_Thank you for letting me be." The he grabbed my face once more before we continued into our secret bliss._

* * *

><p><strong>Harry is, in fact, modeled after my best guy friends sort of all mashed up together. I <em>really<em> hope you enjoyed it.**

**Review? (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**I feel awful, I feel like this took me forever to post, but I have a good reason!**

**I had oral surgery last Friday so I've been kinda out of it...**

**But I hope you like it, I promise this isn't all fillers! Every single thing is important...**

**Happy Reading (:**

* * *

><p><em>What hurts the most<em>_  
><em>_Was being so close__  
><em>_And having so much to say__  
><em>_And watching you walk away_

* * *

><p>I woke up, feeling revived and insanely warm. Draco had taken off his shirt sometime in the night, and I had awakened to his arms wrapped around me. A smile shot to my face as I took a moment to snuggle in closer and hold this moment in for as long as I could. After drifting back off into a dream like state, Draco stirred awake and kissed me on top of my head. I giggled and he froze, probably assuming I was asleep the entire time. I rested my chin on his chest and batted my eyes at him as he smoothed away my frizzy hair.<p>

"Good morning, beautiful," he whispered, procuring a huge smile on his face. I giggled and started playing with the hairs on his head.

"Goodmorning, Draco." I stopped, caressed his face, and smiled at him. I laid my head back on his chest and closed my eyes, just to open them a few moments later and find he was staring at me. We sat there staring at each other, comfortable with the silence, for quite some time.

"What time is it?" I wondered aloud. All the sudden one of Draco's hands lifted off my back, and I craved the warmth that suddenly left.

"9:39 a.m." he said plainly, replacing his hand to its original spot. I nodded, mouthing thank you and receiving a nod in return. Draco closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before relaxing with a smile on his face.

"What's wrong?" I was confused, his actions just made no sense.

"Nothing is wrong. I was just trying to imagine us, you know, I was being peaceful. I close my eyes and I'm picturing us on some trail in mid-fall, just holding hands and walking." He paused for a moment, so I closed my eyes and tried to picture the same thing. "I like mid-fall, it's not too shabby." He giggled, thinking of a memory, before continuing. "I like you, Hermione. I don't know if you've ever noticed that." We both started chuckling and he kept going. "And I care about you, and this is just crazy…you know?" I sat there seeing how absolutely crazy all of this was! He was actually right!

"Yea," I giggled, "This is crazy! But it's nice."

"Is nice good?"

"Nice is… well… nice is _wonderful_." I smiled into his chest, hugging him tight, feeling him reciprocate the gesture. We stayed like this for an hour or so, enjoying the silence, before I decided what I wanted to do today.

"I think I might go out to lunch with Seamus Finnegan and his wife today." I stated, out of the blue. "It's time I met the woman who put a leash on that man." Draco snorted.

"That was random, been thinking about him the whole time we've been cuddling." I looked up at his face to see a smile plastered across it accompanied by a wink. I loved how carefree he was being, just joking around with me and not caring.

"Oh, you know, I _always_ think about him, especially when I hang out with you." I told him in the most sarcastic tone I could manage. We both started roaring with laughter, and I'm not sure why, but it was just funny.

"Hermione, you're alright, for a girl you know." Another one of those sexy winks appeared on his face, and my face turned a bright red.

"You need to stop doing that." I bluntly told him, seeing amusement still on his face from our random bout of laughter.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He snickered, either knowing exactly what I was talking about, or just overcome with silliness, or maybe both!

"Winking at me… it's sexy…" I turned even redder, burying my face in his chest. His chest bounced up and down with laughter, but when he stopped he just combed his hands through my hair peacefully.

"You know, you should probably owl Seamus. I bet you've been _dying_ to do it." He snorted at his own joke, which caused me to start giggling as I got up to write Seamus a note.

"Where's your owl?"

"Oh, I'll go and send him off." He stood up and the muscles in his abdomen rippled as they flexed. He looked very pronounced with a shirt off, lean, yet muscular. He was so sexy with his tousled angel white hair, and pajama shorts on. He smiled easily, taking the note and exiting the office.

He returned smiling, "all sent, my dear. What do you want to do until it's replied to?"

I thought about it for a moment, "Can I have a grand tour of your house?" He grew uneasy at my proposal, but sighed and started leading me around the house.

* * *

><p>Our tour was cut short by the sound of an owl scratching at a window, "Looks like someone's plans have arrived." He smirked at me, before taking the note off the birds leg.<p>

_Hermione,_

_My wife and I would be delighted if you came over for lunch! Sorry for such late notice but we do tend to eat early, so get here around 11:30! Can't wait to see you._

_Much love,_

_Seamus_

I was riddled with excitement. I could not _wait_ to meet his wife. I turned towards Draco with a smile on my face, and he smiled back at me with much grace.

"I'm guessing he didn't turn you down?" He said with amusement in his voice. I couldn't tell what the underlying of it meant, but he was being genuinely sweet.

"Nope, I'm supposed to be there around 11:30. I'm guessing he lives in Hogsmeade, you know, since he works there?"

"Best leave a little bit earlier so you can ask around town." He smiled at me, before taking me by the hand and leading me to a door in the office I had never noticed before. "_This_ is a surprise I wanted you to have." He opened the door to reveal the best clothing I've seen in years, but it wasn't my taste. I loved comfortable, cozy, doesn't have to necessarily be fashionable, but it did have to match. But that was weekend clothing, I did have some nice dress suits for work, but I hardly wore them elsewhere.

"Thank you, Draco, really. But you know me, I'm low key. I'm sorry. It's truly a wonderful gift, but I don't know when I'd use it." I looked away, turning a bright shade of red, embarrassed by my pickiness at a gesture. Had I really told him I wasn't going to accept it? This was mad! "Oh my goodness, I am a total bitch aren't I?" We both looked at each other before one corner of his lips yanked up and he boldly told me,

"Yes," in a very sarcastic tone. We roared in laughter, having to hold each other up for balance. Whatever was so funny this morning had me all in a tizzy. I haven't felt this giddy in years.

As our laughter subsided, I looked at him and placed my hand back on his arm, slightly rubbing it. "I really am sorry; I didn't mean to come off like that."

"It's okay," he said, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug. "I knew you wouldn't like _these_ gowns, but I gave it a go anyways. You never know, people can surprise you." He smiled and winked at me before continuing. "So, I have this one, _special_ section **just** for you." He grabbed my hand again, and led me to the back of the massive closet. When we approached a slightly shabbier rack than the rest, not insultingly, just more my style, I squealed. Everything was **perfect**. It fit me better than my clothes did, and moved better. These must be the most expensive, shabby clothes he could find. I was beyond words.

"Thank you!" I squealed, jumping into his arms for a hug. "I don't see why you did this though…" I stated, pulling away.

"Well, I figured you would need clothes for the Finnegan's today, so here you are. You don't have to keep anything you don't want. I can return it all later." He smiled such a genuine and sweet smile at that moment that I couldn't tell him no and to take it all back now. I didn't want to break his heart, so I grabbed a few items, and picked out a cozy sundress for the luncheon.

"I'm going to go change and head to Hogsmeade." I told him, receiving a smile and a nod before he turned to leave the gargantuan closet. "Thank you, Draco. I'm so glad we can care about each other this much!" It was random, just flew out of my mouth, but it made him stop. His back straightened up, and he moved to turn around, his mouth slightly ajar from what I could tell. But he stopped, slouched, and left the closet without a word. And with the noise of a door from far away closing, I pulled on a sun kissed dress.

* * *

><p>I walked around Hogsmeade for awhile, finding out instantly where the Finnegan's lived, but still having time to kill. I had a lot on my mind that I didn't want to show up to a friendly lunch with. I <em>definitely<em> needed this time to clear my whirling head. I was confused about _so_ many things! How could I be hanging out with and caring for Draco Malfoy? Where did Ron and I fall out to? How was I drifting away from Harry and Ginny? Why is all this stuff changing, yet not one thing is choosing to stay the same? All these questions had answers I couldn't fathom, but there had to be an answer for everything. But my brain couldn't wrap around any ideas.

After pacing behind the shops for ten minutes, racking my brain for answers, I decided it was time to trek up the hill to the Finnegan's.

* * *

><p>I rang their doorbell and instantly a booming Seamus came running to the door to sweep me up.<p>

"Oi there 'las. Took ye long enough!"

"I'm sorry, I got so lost! _Someone_ didn't tell me where they live!" Shock spread across his face.

"Ye know I idn't mean ta. I'm sorry…" He looked like a puppy og, so I gave him a big hug before looking him squarely in the face.

"Where is this wife, I have been _dying_ to meet her."

"She's right this way," he gestured towards the hall behind him, and we started walking. His house was very quaint and homey. It was nestled in the woods behind Dervish and Banges, and it was perfect for him, in a way. We made our way to the back porch where I saw a woman facing a small lake. Her hair fell long past her shoulders in a brunette waterfall. She was slender and very lady like. When she turned around she had the biggest smile on her face. When she stood up, she was about an inch or two shorter than me, and her skin was a fair shade. She didn't look like she came from anywhere strictly in Europe, which did slightly confuse me. As far as I knew Seamus didn't nor has he ever travelled. He's so proud of where he came from that he would question why anyone would want to go anywhere else. So how had he met this woman that was clearly not from Europe?

"It's so nice to finally meet someone that Seamus has adored for years!" That was the first thing she said to me in an accent you can only find in America, finishing it off with, "he's right, you are just as beautiful in person as you are on the tabloids."

"Thank you I guess. Hahaha, I don't know what to say..." I didn't know how to finish the sentence because I didn't even know her name. We sat there awkwardly for a moment before she told me.

"Oh my goodness! My name is Colby! I can't believe I just did that." She smiled a perfect smile, looking at Seamus she blushed. Why was everyone so freaking adorable...

"Let's eat lassies and get ta know each'ther." Seamus boomed behind me, disappearing inside to grab a large tray of food. Colby gestured towards a chair and began to sit down, Seamus and I followed suit.

"There _would_ be four of us today, but our youngest daughter, Leighanne, has run amuck. She _loves_ Hogsmeade, and goes exploring almost every day. No doubt she is at the tea shop…" Colby exclaimed, but I was lost.

"You guys have kids! That's awesome!" Or at least, I thought I heard her say our _youngest_ daughter…

"Oh yes we do!" Seamus and Colby busted out laughing having said the sentence in unison, but it was only Colby who continued, "We have fraternal twins who are 5th years at Hogwarts now, Tyree Jason and Devan Keelan. We have triplets who are 4th years, Neal Sloan, Robert Lennnon, and Christopher Michael. And last, but not least, we have our nine year old, Leighanne." Colby and Seamus smiled at each other, but a sudden ache happened in my lower body. 5 children in two years, that's _insane_. I knew I paled the instant she told me, but I didn't think I looked that bad.

"Are ye okay, Hermione? Ye need some water o' somethin'?" Seamus and Colby had stopped laughing and now looked concerned.

"No, I just think I went into shock. 5 kids in two years? That has to be impossible!" They shared a look, and I knew this had to be the billionth time they had been asked this.

"Well, we're like one in a trillion I guess. But I consider myself lucky, they're great kids. I myself grew up in a rather large family, having four brothers and sisters myself. They all protect each other, which is great, what I wanted. Yes, Leighanne is a bit behind, and we honestly didn't expect her, but she's in great hands." Colby was an interesting mother, but she loved her kids. I could tell. Seamus did too, he had the biggest booming smile I've ever seen.

"'Oi, we haven't even told ye about 'ow we met! Tell 'er, beautiful!" Colby's face procured a huge smile accompanied by glowing red cheeks.

"Okay, well, I'm an American and I come from the Wizarding School in Salem called The Salem Witches Institute. We aren't really that big, but there are a lot of muggleborns over there. The Second Wizarding War was a foreign matter to us in its entirety. So, please, please, _please_ don't be mad if I get the facts wrong. But, I did a study abroad program at the school, which a majority of the students attended because of the scarcity of North American Wizarding Schools. I was transferred to Bueaxbatons during your fourth year, my second, to observe. I met Seamus but we didn't pay any mind to each other. _But_, during the seventh year I had to stay Fleur's for awhile because she was my mentor and I missed her. She kept the whole thing under wraps, until one day a member of the DA shows up and completely captivates me with his strong Irish accent and way with the ladies."

"But she ignored me, that's a what she did! She wouldn't even pay me any 'ind!" Colby chuckled and nodded before continuing.

"He is telling the truth. He was a lady hunter, all he wanted was their lady parts! And I wouldn't have that! So I ignored him. It drove him **nuts**! He kept begging to stay longer, but it was Christmas time, and it was coming to an end. On the second to last night I heard rocks being thrown at my window. Completely annoyed, I thrust open the window, and my hand flew out with my middle finger hoisted up high. But he started singing, horribly I might I add, but there he was fumbling around on a guitar, with a lame made up song, and a lame voice. In that moment I fell in love, but I wouldn't tell him that. I got everyone else's information before I headed back to the United States, including Seamus's. We talked for a year before I came back to visit him, and I've been here ever since. He always told me he knew I would love him, he knew –…"

"'Hat when I found 'he one, 'he girl fer me, I would know, and I would go after 'er. So I did, I –…"

"Got on his hands and knees and begged me to believe him that from the moment he saw me with Fleur that he hadn't even thought -…"

" 'o beddin' any other girl. I knew from 'hat moment she was 'he one fer me. Now 'ook at us…"

"Six children and we still act like elementary school kids."

"We have the lamest relationship ever." They finished together, gazing into each other's eyes, and I was overcome with jealousy. Why can't I have something like that?

"Sorry about my rant, I love telling our story. We used to fight all the time, hell, we still do. But we just clash so much. I needed someone genuine, and I ended up with the player. But I gave him a chance I wasn't willing to give anyone else, and I suppose that's the greatest thing I've ever done." She finished with a smile. We continued eating with casual conversation flow. By the time I quit I had decided that after I leave here I am going to my house to get some clothes.

"That really was fantastic!" I told them, picking up my plate and following Colby into the kitchen.

"I hoped you'd enjoy it. American food mixed with Irish cuisine clashes when you don't have an open mind." She chuckled, grabbing my plate and washing it.

"It really was nice meeting you. I'm glad Seamus found the girl he was looking for."

"Oh, he stumbled upon me. Didn't know what he was looking for, bless him. He makes me happy though. That's all I needed. My little brother absolutely approves. So does my big brothers and my big sister, but my little brother was so excited I got married to Seamus. I miss him. I miss all of them." She looked off, and I was suddenly stuck on what to say to such deepness in the conversation.

"Well your little brother has good eyes. Seamus is the best of the best. I hope we can all hang out more often. Hopefully I can meet Leighanne!" I gave her an encouraging smile which I received in return.

"She's incredible. Do you have any siblings?" She smiled at me, and I just stood there.

"No... my parents only had me... I mean there are moments where I wanted siblings, but I don't know. My husband, Ron, has one sister and four brothers. He used to have five brothers..." I stopped, suddenly choked up. There were moments where we all really missed Fred. George never fully got over it, still toasting him when ever he could. You couldn't help but miss his laughter, and the twin's antics, but George carries on for him, always being a living tribute to his brother. Colby placed a hand on my shoulder, probably unsure of what to do, "but it's okay… Not really, I miss Fred…"

"I don't blame you, they are your family." And suddenly everything was brought full circle. I had to go talk to Ron, this, whatever this was, was getting out of hand. We had to fix this, his family was my family. I couldn't let that go. Not now.

"Colby, I am so sorry, but I think I have to go and sort things out… I really enjoyed this lunch with you guys, truly." I smiled apologetically at her, but she smiled joyfully back.

"No, it's fine. You got something to do, you got something to do. I shouldn't stop you. But please stop by whenever. I need more girl friends… these boys in Hogsmeade are killing me." She giggled, and went in for a small hug. "Seamus should still be out back! See you soon!"

I went and told Seamus my goodbyes, getting a lung crushing hug, before heading to the entrances of Hogsmeade to take a deep breath in. I could do this, I could face him… I know it.

I apparated straight into the house, not trying to be subtle at all. The house was fairly clean, and didn't smell of alcohol. I smelled remnants of burnt toast, and giggled to myself, knowing what I was doing was right.

"Ron!" I called out as loud as I could, unsure of where he may be. I heard a loud banging come from somewhere in the house before heavy footsteps skittered across the 2nd story floor.

"Hermione? Is that you?"

"Yes! Come down here!" Loud thunderous footsteps clouded the house as he made his way down the stairs. He looked dreadful, but smelt as if he had taken a recent shower. He ran over and picked me up, twirling me around in a hug, delight all over his face.

"I knew you'd come back! Hermione I am _so_ sorry. I wish I could take back every little thing." He sat me down on the couch and grasped the sides of my face. "If you knew how deeply sorry I was, if you just knew…" His throat was choked up by threatening sobs. But he looked deep into my eyes, not at all ashamed. "I love you so much," he gave me a deep kiss, trying to be passionate. "I do, I love you, Hermione. I am so sorry…" Tears fell from his eyes, and we fell into an embrace. I was unsure of what to say, but I know this is right… it has to be…

"I just want you to know, Ron that will _never_ happen again. Understood?" I looked at him like he was a child, and he nodded, looking down because he was ashamed of himself. "I want this to work, but you've got to help me make it work… Without you, I can't do it anymore. I need a husband, I need my friend back." He kissed me deeply, before pulling away, holding the sides of my head.

"I will be that, I'm sorry for not being that, but I will be your everything again. I promise, Hermione, I want to be your everything again. Merlin, I feel so bad for ever making you think I wasn't, nor were you mine. I'm so sorry…" This is right… this is what's supposed to happen… this is what I'm supposed to do… I need to rekindle this… I have to…

"Okay, then let's do this again." He bear hugged me, laughing, rejoicing, but all I could do was put a fake smile on my face. I hope this is the right decision… But Draco… I know it's wrong to think of another man when you're supposed to be with someone completely different, but the past few weeks, Draco had been my everything. I didn't want to break his heart… but I didn't even know what to do with mine…

* * *

><p>We talked everything through for hours, but when I had heard enough apologies, I made us dinner before walking up to the fireplace and throwing the Floo Powder in.<p>

Draco's address was all I thought of as I twisted and pulled through the network of fireplaces. I suddenly stopped and opened my eyes to see his office, with him lying on the bed. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or just resting, so I went and lied down next to him… Suddenly an arm curled up and around me, pulling me closer, and I suddenly felt warm again. I rested my chin on his chest so I could look at his face, but his eyes were shut. He started humming an unfamiliar tune, but it sounded jovial, which made my stomach twist and turn into knots. I couldn't stay very long; I couldn't make this worse for him. I pulled away, and went to sit on the loveseat, silent tears cascading down my face as I looked at the fireplace. I heard his quiet footsteps on the hardwood floor following me, when he suddenly appeared in front of me, sitting on the floor, holding my hands.

Draco looked deep into my eyes, with a concerned look on his face, "what's the matter beautiful? You can tell me." He looked into my eyes, hopeful, but I looked away, mortified for what I had to do. "Hermione, you're scaring me. What's wrong, please tell me." He pleaded, gripping my hands tighter, and pulling me closer. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't, there was no way.

"I – I – I made up with Ron…" My voice cracked on the last word, and he dropped one of my hands, placing his hand on my face, begging me to turn and look at him. I pulled my head further away, willing myself to look at his walls of books, anything instead of him.

"What does that mean, Hermione? What's wrong?" His voice was cracking too, as if he already knew the answers to his questions… I sobbed, feeling my heart writhe in pain. His thumb instantly started wiping away my tears, and my empty hand found his face too wet with tears. I rubbed his cheek with my thumb, stopping the silent tears and prolonging my visit. Suddenly he took in a sharp breath, "Hermione, you've got to tell me what's going on…" he said in a choked up voice, which only made it harder for me to speak. My heart felt like it was tearing in half, and I hadn't even told him why I came.

"I came here…" My throat clenched up, I knew I couldn't do it… I couldn't tell him when his hand felt so right in mine, when his thumb worked magical powers just rubbing my face, I couldn't tell him when I felt my heart breaking inside of me. "I can't anymore, Draco… I – I – I can't talk to you anymore…" I forced myself to look at his face, but his face was downcast, and his hand dropped from my face. My hand tugged and pulled on his cheek for him to look up at me, but he wouldn't budge. Suddenly his hand delicately grabbed mine off of his face, and pulled it downwards until I felt the beat to my favorite song. I closed my eyes, and I locked the beat in my head, which sent me whirling back to last night, to my head lying across his bare chest, and I was put to sleep by this song. I started sobbing in unison with him, before I heard him croak something. "What did you say?"

"Why?" He looked up at me, and my heart shattered. He looked so lost, so confused. I couldn't answer his question though, I knew I couldn't, because I definitely didn't know why, but I couldn't talk to him anymore, not if it was to work out with Ron. I put my forehead against his, and took my hand out of his to rest it on his face. My thumb aimlessly rubbed his cheek, while his thumbs turned circles on the back of my hand on his heart, and on my knee.

"I wish I could tell you…" That was all I could say before I was sobbing again, and he let out an upset breath.

"You don't even know?" He pulled away, looking me full on in the face, disappointment riddled on his face. I shook my head, and he closed his eyes, suppressing his anger.

"I mean, I know, I think I know… I just… I told Ron I wanted things to work with him, Draco. And I don't think things will work if you're still around…" I spoke fast, unsure if what I was saying was even making sense. I stood up, not knowing what to do or say. Draco just knelt there on the ground, before slowly picking himself up. I stood there, quivering with heartbreak. I just wanted to hug him, but I knew I couldn't.

He rose to turn around and look at me, his head downcast, and his shoulder slumped in defeat. He knew there was no way to win me over, I could tell.

"I care so much about you," he said brokenly, "but if this is what you want, I have to let you go. If this is what will fix you, then I have to lose you. I want to fix you, I do, but you aren't really giving me the chance. I guess this is it then. I want to fight for you, damn it, Hermione, I do. But I can't, not if it's your decision to leave. But you need to know you deserve the best, and if I'm not that, but you think Ron is, then go." His throat gave out on the last word, and his shoulders began to shake with sobs. I started backing up, knowing I had to go. If I didn't go now, I never would.

"I'm sorry," was all I whispered, before grabbing a handful of the Floo Powder and thrusting it into the fireplace.

As I backed into the fireplace, I thought I heard an almost inaudible, "I love you," come from Draco's lips, but I could have imagined it. But I didn't imagine the enormous heartbreak that knocked me off my feet once I appeared in my house. I was thankful Ron went to bed early, because if he didn't he would've found me picking myself up off the floor at 4:30 in the morning, and stumbling swollen eyed back to bed…

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><p><strong>You are not allowed to hate me...<strong>

**Haha, I'm sorry if you do though.**

**Please keep reading, and keep the reviews coming (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**THIS IS YOUR BIG FAT JUICY WARNING! DON'T IGNORE THIS!: Okay, so none of you have probably noticed the rating change... well, this chapter is EXACTLY why it has... Don't say I didn't warn you... This is for mature readers and this story should have been put on M to start with.**

**But I feel sorta confident in this chapter... ENOJOY!**

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><p><em>Tell me that we belong together<em>  
><em>Dress it up with the trappings of love<em>  
><em>I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips<em>  
><em>Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above<em>

* * *

><p>The week was more miserable than I thought it would be. Ron didn't pick up anything, not a single thing. The house was just as messy as it was before, and he was just as lazy. We fought just as much, and had never had sex. I thought he would have tried to, seeing as how he left an I love you note on my desk every day at work, but nothing happened. Friday night I found myself looking towards that fireplace, just wishing I was walking through it to someone better.<p>

But I was snapped out of my trance by the sound of breaking glass.

"Ronald! What in Merlin's name was that?" I shouted, slowly getting up from my couch, with my magazine in hand, walking away from my longing.

"It was nothing… Can you help me pick it up?" I looked down to see my favorite plate that Harry had gotten me for Christmas one year. He told me it was a one of a kind, and the best part was, he assured me, that house elves did not make it. I loved that plate, I'm not sure why, but it was just beautiful. But there that plate was, scattered across the floor, and Ron was asking _me_, who had nothing to do with its breaking, to clean it up. _And_ he called it nothing… My temper shot up, and rage boiled out of my pores. I could feel the tension in my muscles building right before the blow…

"_It's_ nothing… It's _nothing_? And _I_ help _you_ clean it up? Ronald, I don't know what world you live in, but I am damn sure certain you think it revolves around you. But you know what, it doesn't, this real world stuff requires you to like actually think about more people than yourself!" He turned to look at me, contempt on his face. "Don't you even act like _you_ have a reason to be mad at me! You said this would get better!" I choked up, not noticing the tears that had came up. "You said this would get better Ron, and it has been the same! You haven't changed one bit, you –"

"Don't even act like you haven't helped me out a damn bit, Hermione! You tell me to get better, but I don't even know what I do wrong!"

"So you said you were sorry for things you did wrong, but you didn't even know what they were? How the hell can you be sorry then, Ron? Tell me, because I am dying to hear your lazy ass excuse for something that breaks my heart!" I threw down the magazine I was holding, and I turned away from him to wipe the tears from my face.

"I meant I was sorry for calling you that word… and stuff…" I turned around furious…

"'**That word and stuff?' **_Really_ Ronald? Do you really think that that is the message you conveyed to me Sunday? Do you honestly think you said exactly that?" He slightly nodded his head, I assumed he thought he had to answer, but he was frightful to do so. "Because if you said that **exact** sentence then I would **not** be standing here now! I gave you a second chance, Ronald. You've seemed to tilt **everything** off balance and still make it remain about you!" I was screaming now, letting the tears flow freely down my face. "I'm tired of waking up **every damn morning** to find _something_ left out of place! I'm tired of cold showers! I'm tired of having to clean up after a grown man! I am tired of having this damn ring on my finger if the person who gave it to me acts like it doesn't even matter!" I took off my wedding band and slammed it on the table. "I'm done, Ron. I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of pulling all the weight in this relationship and still getting blamed for all our problems. Maybe it is me, maybe I am the whole reason this hasn't worked out. Or maybe I just need someone who will put forth an effort, put in to the relationship as much as they take out. Maybe I need someone who will prove to me they love me and respect me. Maybe that person isn't you. I know they aren't you now, you threw away your chance, and you don't even fight for another." I shook my head, wiping away a few tears before taking in a gulp of air. "Bye, Ron. If you aren't even going to fight, then there is a definite bye." His face was of utter shock. He couldn't believe what was happening and neither could I. . . But he said nothing. Not a single word to fight back, beg for me to stay. I didn't hear a peep come out of his mouth; so I turned around and just walked away. I didn't even think about it, I just acted on impulse and threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped in, just thinking of the beautiful angel that would make me smile.

I stumbled out of the fireplace haphazardly and fell onto the couch and sank in. I grabbed a throw pillow and cuddled up to it, bringing my legs up in fetal position. I sat there staring at the fireplace, entranced by the flames of yellow and orange that danced around in it. I heard someone clear their throat behind me, a kind of bothered sound. It made me jump in my seat, even though I knew he was already there. But I didn't turn around; I didn't want to confront him, not after what I had done to him five days prior to now. Tears fell in even more quantities when I thought about it, thought about what I had done.

He didn't move, not a single muscle, and neither did I. I made no advance for him and I wasn't surprised or upset when he did the same as I. This was a bad idea, but I felt safe here. Safe from judgment of things I did with Ron. After about five minutes or so of silence from both of us, besides my constant sniffing from crying, I heard the scratching of pen on paper as he continued his work. I sat there for a couple of minutes, listening to the deafening sound of his immobility. My breath shuddered, I couldn't take it... I didn't like this distance at all.

All the sudden his pencil slammed down on his desk, and he breathed heavily. He sighed whispering, "Merlin, Hermione..." Then I heard his chair skid backwards across the floor and near silent footsteps padded towards me. Suddenly, his figure came into view, but he didn't turn towards me, just stopped to stare into the fire. I couldn't tear my eyes off his tense back; I could almost see the knots that had formed from stress poking through his shirt. He looked slightly thinner, as if he hadn't eaten much in awhile. His hair wasn't in its normal neat do, but rather sticking off his head in all directions. He looked wrong, all wrong, and it upset me because it might have been about me. He let out a strained huff, bringing his hands up to his face.

"Hermione, I'm so damn confused right now..." his voice sounded choked. He turned to look at me, a combination of anger and sorrow on his face. "You want to know why I'm confused? Well, there's this girl who not even a _week _ago told me she didn't want to be with me, and now she's sitting here, on my couch... like it never happened... Do you see why this pisses me off to no end! Does she not care that she broke my heart? Does she not care at all? Hermione, can you answer that for me?" His glare begged for answers, and my heart dropped. I didn't know if I could even speak. I wasn't quite sure why I was here after hurting him the way I did... "Hermione, I deserve answers!" I laid the pillow flat on my lap, smoothing it out and staring at it while I spoke.

"I – I know this may seem absurd –," he huffed, shaking his head, but I kept going. "This may seem absurd, but I actually came here because I felt safe here…" I didn't know how to finish the sentence, unsure of why I was even here. But then it started clicking in my head, but as I was having this revelation Draco decided to start talking.

"Is that all?" He said frustrated, running his hands through his hair. "Because, Hermione, I think it's great you feel safe, or whatever, but I can't handle this, you coming over here. Hermione, you can't tell me you can't talk to me anymore, leave, and then come back whenever you fancy! That's not fair to me! But you can –,"

"Draco, you know what I realized after I told you I couldn't talk to you anymore? I realized I pushed you away because I knew if I was going to be with Ron, I couldn't be thinking about you. You taught me how amazing a man could be, how sweet and endearing, and I realize now that I pushed you away for the fear that I would have had to choose between you and Ron, and I already knew subconsciously who I wanted…" I took a deep breath in. Looks of confusion crossed Draco's face, and I knew I wasn't explaining it right. "I like you Draco… a lot… I don't even know what to do about it anymore… I just –,"

"Hermione, why are you here, why do you keep changing your damn mind? I'm sorry but Ron is there," he pointed towards the fireplace, "on the other side! I may be here, and I want you damn it, but I don't want someone who is going to constantly change their mind!"

"I realized tonight that life is about passion! Life is about finding what makes you happy, makes you feel complete, and then you go for it! I shouldn't settle for less," I started crying again… "I should settle for what's right for me! And you're right for me," I stood up, slowly approaching him. "Draco, you don't make me dread waking up in the morning, you hold me when I'm sad, you make me feel a sense of safety that I have _never_ have felt with another human being. I just am tired of waking up to something that I feel like is forced to love me. With you, it's so easy." I looked into his eyes, and his expression softened, but he was still guarded. "I told Ron we were done with, him and I." I wiped the tears away, but my hands couldn't keep up. Suddenly his hands were on my face wiping away the tears. He pulled me in for a hug, and I started bawling. "You know, it hurts this bad only because you would think he would have cared more. You would think, if you woke up to someone every day of your life for 15 some odd years, things would've been different, he would've been more decent about things…" He hugged me tighter, kissing the top of my head. "But I knew I could come to you, I knew that I loved you and damn it, Draco, I just didn't think anything would hurt this bad…" He started rubbing my back.

"I love you, too." I hugged him tighter, then pulled away to look at him, both of us teary-eyed. I smiled at him, and he returned it too. Suddenly, he started humming _Something_ by The Beatles, entrancing me into a soft, swaying motion. We both closed our eyes, and I leaned my head in to rest on his chest as we danced. Suddenly, I felt a deep rumble in his chest as he starting singing the song to me, softly, and gently.

_"Something in the way she moves,_  
><em>Attracts me like no other lover.<em>  
><em>Something in the way she woos me.<em>  
><em>I don't want to leave her now,<em>  
><em>You know I believe and how.<em>

_Somewhere in her smile she knows,_  
><em>That I don't need no other lover.<em>  
><em>Something in her style that shows me.<em>  
><em>I don't want to leave her now,<em>  
><em>You know I believe and how."<em>

I opened my eyes and pulled away; the tears were overwhelming. He paused in his song to look at me and brush the hair away from my face. Suddenly, I was standing on my tip toes, leaning in closer to his face. He didn't hesitate, didn't pull back, but instead he plunged forward until my lips were locked onto his.

At first, I was frightened by the beating of my heart. I thought the beats were so strong it was shaking my whole body under his tender grasp, but then I relaxed and felt the whole of him. I melted into his soft lips, feeling them take me away to a secret paradise of walks down fall laden roads, the leaves scrunching beneath our feet, as we walked hand in hand and felt the breeze roll across our cheeks. It smelt of maple and honey, visions of smiling of white teeth, a giggle here or there, a new dawn for the new life, life of carefree love, carefree lips, lips that kissed another whenever they so pleased, lips that tasted of the smoothest texture and melted onto mine and took me away to this faraway place of blissful love. But this place, I think, takes me down a new road, a bramble filled, uncut road, that led to who knew where. Did I want to take that road?

But as soon as this thought became apparent, he plunged deeper, obviously wanting to go down that road. He parted my lips, and his tongue of the sweetest chocolate dove into my mouth and the heat struck around my entire body. His hands pulled my face in closer, making sure I wouldn't leave, as if I even wanted to. I pushed my body further against his and he lifted me with ease. I wrapped my legs around his body and walked us towards the bed where he lied me down and whispered in my ear.

"I love you, I love you so much," and we continued into our piece of heaven, pulling off each other's outer layers of clothes and continued exploring the vast wonderlands our bodies unfolded for us, seeing the passion unfold in great mounds of desire, tasting and desiring, to receive all we'd been wanting and waiting for from each other. I've never been so caught up in the desire in my life.

Suddenly my back arched, and my eyes slammed shut as my toes curled completely under while the moment of pleasure he gave me sent a wave of pleasure through my whole body.

"Draco…" I moaned as his tongue made a path up my body, leaving small kisses before reaching my neck and biting down.

I ran my kisses down his body after flipping us over, stopping at his waist line as I pulled off his boxer with a smirk before tossing them to the side.

"I want you," I begged, rolling over on my back bringing him on top of me, "I want you so bad." My begging probably sounded like music to his ears, and he pulled back for a moment before sliding inside of me and feeling my tight walls clutch around him, pausing just a moment long enough for me to catch my breath before he started moving inside of me.

My moans were like magic as he pumped in and out of me, my nails digging into his as a sign of desire I had never felt before, and I held onto him, not wanting him to ever leave me again. I begged him not to stop, pleaded he would go on longer, and he does everything in him to fulfill that need for me.

"Draco…" my raspy voice moaned as my nails dug into his back, and he sucked hard on my neck. At this moment, Draco was doing things to my body that drove it crazy, and all that mattered was him and me, in this moment, in this bed.

My breathing became faster, my heart raced under him, and when he felt my hips buckle he breathed out the relief as he thrust into me one last time, hitting his release and slamming his lips against mine.

As we finished, lying next to each other, holding each other, breathing heavily, I whispered, "I love you, I loved that." I turned to him, kissing him deeply on the lips, my mind keeping me in my place of elation, my land of wonderment, "Thank you, thank you for holding me, loving me, giving me a piece of heaven, leaving me breathless, leaving me completely at ease…" He smiled at me, kissing my forehead.

"My heaven is yours, my love is yours, and my arms are yours to crawl into. I love you, too, Hermione. I am so glad you're here right now." That was the last thing he said before he started singing again, this time it was _And I Love Her_ by The Beatles.

"_I give her all my love_  
><em>That's all I do<em>  
><em>And if you saw my love<em>  
><em>You'd love her too<em>  
><em>I love her<em>

_She gives me everything_  
><em>And tenderly<em>  
><em>The kiss my lover brings<em>  
><em>She brings to me<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>

_A love like ours_  
><em>Could never die<em>  
><em>As long as I<em>  
><em>Have you near me<em>

_Bright are the stars that shine_  
><em>Dark is the sky<em>  
><em>I know this love of mine<em>  
><em>Will never die<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>

_Bright are the stars that shine_  
><em>Dark is the sky<em>  
><em>I know this love of mine<em>  
><em>Will never die<em>  
><em>And I love her<em>_."_

He kept singing this, over and over again, until my eyes had closed, and escaped into a familiar world.

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><p><em>I was standing in the middle of field, surrounded by strawberries, and I was waiting. I knew I shouldn't go anywhere, I guess you could say it was a premonition, but I'd like to say it was just instinct. Suddenly he emerged from the wooded area in front of my gaze, and it was like a bright angel or a sun had appeared and it was coming towards me. He flashed his award winning smiled at me, grabbed my hand and continued walking. I followed suit and he led me down a flowery path to a river that ran slowly, simply meandering through the woods. He turned me and stood me on his toes, and we slow danced to the sound of the murmuring brook.<em>

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><p>I woke around two in the morning when Draco stirred and got out of bed.<p>

"Where are you going?" I asked, pulling the sheets up to cover me. He stopped and turned towards me, a smile played across his face as he crawled back into bed.

"Nowhere, well to the bathroom." He laughed while brushing the hair from my face. He held my cheek then hesitantly leaned forward. Knowing what he wanted to do I forced my lips into his, feeling the honeyed texture dance across my lips and I snaked my fingers into his hair, pulling him in closer. He moaned and laughed, suddenly pulling away. "Hermione, I need to go to the bathroom." He kissed my forehead beforee smiling at me and turning toward the loo. I huffed at him, crossing my arms on my chest, and leaning back in bed. I looked around the dark room and realized I was oddly very awake and sleep was not going to be an option for awhile…

Soon Draco came back and lied in bed with me, putting his arms around me and flipping me so I could mold perfectly into him. It was like we were made for this, as cliché as that is; it was the honest to Merlin truth with him. He wasn't so bulky that I felt like I was suffocating, we complemented each other nicely.

"Hermione?" Draco asked in the darkness behind me, and I stiffened, he seemed worried. "Can I ask you a question?" He slowly laid me back on my back so he could see my face. I nodded, choking down my fear, but still afraid to speak. "Is this it? Is this what you've finally decided you wanted?" He combed through the tendrils of hair around my face, and my stomach lost all its butterflies; I seriously thought he was going to tell me to leave.

"Of course, Draco! Of course this is what I want or I wouldn't be lying here!" I pulled him in for a passionate kiss that he immediately deepened in his excitement. I gladly let him in, tasting that smooth chocolate again, and loving every minute of it. I soon pulled out of it, though, having questions of my own to ask. "Draco…what about your wife?" It was like he'd completely forgotten because he put his hand on his forehead and fell back onto the bed. "Draco…" I rolled on my side to look at him, pulling his hands from his face.

"It's just…" he took a deep breath in and out. "I just didn't want _now_ to be when I told you… But you asked, so I must." He perched himself up on his elbow, brushing my hair behind my ears and placing a soft peck on my lips. "But, damn your kisses are good." He seemed lost for a moment, and I blushed a deep red. "Sorry, off topic. But my wife and I," he scratched the back of his head as if to find the right words before continuing, "we fought a lot, we weren't ever really in love. I know it seems medieval but we were _forced_ to marry, it was arranged since we were six." He rolled his eyes, obviously disgusted with his parents for it. "So, marriage was naturally harder for us, both wanting to do only what we wanted to do, completely selfish, and she hated that I was a healer. The woman didn't even work!" He closed his eyes, trying to hide his anger. "Scorpious came along, and he is my world. He really is, but she was pissed because he looks dead on like me and nothing like her. He fancies me more, and she was a horrible parent. We decided before Scorpious's first year that we were going to split. Officially we can't release anything until at least my father is in the grave, but we've gotten a secret keeper to watch us sign the divorce papers. In our little lives, we're done. To the rest of the world, the Malfoy and Parkinson fortune is going to Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy. Little does anyone know, there is no Mrs. Malfoy." He opened his eyes to look at me, and suddenly everything clicked in my head. The stagnant house, the empty side of the bed, him sleeping in here with me and not minding, showing me the house, it all became clear. How did I not see it before? "Please don't be mad I didn't tell you, only you, me, Pansy, Scorpious, and Zabini know…" I giggled and kissed him softly on the lips, and moving back a look of shock spread through his face.

"I'm not mad! Why would I be mad because you're single? Are you mad?" He laughed, falling backwards onto the bed, relieved. "Wait, are you mad because Ron and I aren't official yet?" I sank back, worriedly biting my fingernails. He sat up fast, pulling my nails from my mouth.

"Stop that! Of course I'm not mad! I love you, Hermione." He kissed my deeply before pulling back. "You should know that… I've told you I love you every day for…" He looked around for a second, closing his eyes, and counted backwards. "Bloody hell, I've told you I loved you every day for a week!" He laughed, resting a hand on my cheek.

"What do you mean a _week_?" I was confused; I hadn't _seen_ Draco since last Sunday… What must he be talking about?

"Yes, I told you for the first time last Saturday, and then called it out to you Sunday…" He paused, not sure how to finish off that part. "Then I left a note on your desk every day at work." I remembered the notes, and now it made sense why Ron didn't try anything after work because he never tried anything during work. I remembered Draco calling it out to me as I twisted through the fireplace, tearing up at the thought.

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><p><em>"I care so much about you," he said brokenly, "but if this is what you want, I have to let you go. If this is what will fix you, then I have to lose you. I want to fix you, I do, but you aren't really giving me the chance. I guess this is it then. I want to fight for you, damn it, Hermione, I do. But I can't, not if it's your decision to leave. But you need to know you deserve the best, and if I'm not that, but you think Ron is, then go." His throat gave out on the last word, and his shoulders began to shake with sobs. I started backing up, knowing I had to go. If I didn't go now, I never would.<em>

_"I'm sorry," was all I whispered, before grabbing a handful of the Floo Powder and thrusting it into the fireplace._

_As I backed into the fireplace, I thought I heard an almost inaudible, "I love you," come from Draco's lips, but I could have imagined it. But I didn't imagine the enormous heartbreak that knocked me off my feet once I appeared in my house. I was thankful Ron went to bed early, because if he didn't he would've found me picking myself up off the floor at 4:30 in the morning, and stumbling swollen eyed back to bed…_

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><p>But as I tried to recall the entire weekend I couldn't come up with a single time he said, 'I love you,' except on Sunday. So what was this angel boy talking about? I held his face and looked deep into his grey eyes for a moment, losing myself in them. They were clearer, with a slight gleam in them now. It was like he was actually smiling at me with his eyes, as if he were truly that happy now that even his eyes couldn't fool anyone to think otherwise. I smiled at him while I pulled him forward to capture his lips on mine feeling the smooth honey again, and wanting more. I pulled away quickly, biting my lip while giggling like a school girl. I was truly worried that I missed his first confession of love.<p>

"Draco," I finally got the guts to ask, but I put my hand on his cheek for further confidence. "I remember all those other times, _except_ Saturday… I don't recall you mentioning it then." I paused to bite my lip again, but instead of the anger or sorrow I expected, I got laughter.

"I knew you wouldn't have caught it, but I did, I promise." He leaned forward, and I suddenly felt smooth honey on my lips, but only for a moment, and when I opened my eyes he was on his back. "When my mom and dad were younger, my dad was head over heels for mom. But he was unsure of how to tell her, so he and Mr. Nott came up with some lame saying, having to do with a moose. Supposedly it was to 'capture their attention,' or whatever. Originally, in the middle of a conversation he was supposed to say, 'I'll shoot the moose.' All in all, they thought it sounded somewhat like 'I love you' when you said it with your mouth full. As clever as they thought it was, my dad seemingly failed to communicate the 'I'll shoot the moose' saying when he found himself talking to my mom a few days later. But, he told me, and I quote, 'She threw at me the most breathtaking smile I had ever laid eyes upon that very day.'" He stopped for a moment to rub his thumb across my lips, sending a shockwave down my spine. He moved to my cheek with his thumb before continuing, "His brain went caput, and before he knew it, he forgot what he was planning to say! Basically he just shot out of nowhere, 'Says the moose!' If 'I'll kill the moose' was a confusing phrase, 'Says the moose' is just downright absurd! But there I was with you on Saturday, at a total loss of words for how I felt about you, so I found myself mumbling about a moose, knowing you might never even know how I felt. But, damn, it felt great finally getting it out." He giggled and all the puzzle pieces in my head were finally clicking together. I remembered the exact moment he said it, so I closed my eyes and relished in the memory again.

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><p><em>"Draco," I mumbled, feeling awful about coming to him about all my problems, "this will get better." I don't know if I meant it as a question or a statement, but I still said it, hoping and praying it was true.<em>

_"Says the moose," he murmured before looking back at me with softest smile I've ever seen plastered on his face before. He knew how to comfort me with just a look that pierced right through my soul. It's like he could see right through my exterior, into what really mattered. Whatever that phrase meant, he said it with an endearing tenderness. It made me tear up as I laid my head back across his chest. I didn't want to ruin the moment and ask what it meant, so I just sat still while he hummed__Fix You__by Coldplay and stroked my back._

_"Thank you," I whispered into his chest, before closing my eyes and succumbing to his soothing_ _heartbeat._

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><p>I didn't say anything for awhile; instead I just laid my head on his bare chest and played aimlessly with his fingers, feeling him softly kiss me on the top of the head every so often.<p>

"Are you tired, honey?" He softly grabbed my chin with his thumb and index finger to direct my gaze towards him. He looked deep into my eyes, and I saw his smiling at me and I wondered if mine smiled like his did? I hadn't been this happy with a man in _years_, so I felt my eyes should be smiling, every part of me on the inside felt as if it was smiling. I shook my head slightly at him, not wanting to break eye contact.

"No, I want to stay up with you." I smiled at him and pressed on his lips, wanting to taste the sweet honey, which soon turned into smooth chocolate…

After another long excursion under the sheets I found myself being held in Draco's arms again, being warm but cool at the same time. Being in the perfect place in that moment and I couldn't help but have a smile engraved into my facial features as I finally got to fall asleep in the arms of the man I loved.

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><p><strong>Don't hate me(: hehe okay so short little shout out! Thank you DarkBrownEyes03 for helping me with the love making scene, big props to her because she basically wrote it. Haha.<strong>

**Big shout out to Loo-McAllister and Courtney Daisy for pushing me to keep going with this chapter despite all the stuff going on with my life.**

**You three are the best people I could ask for, thank you for pushing me to get this far anyway, it means more to me than you'll ever know.**

**And thank you, readers, for the reviews! Seriously, those make me smile and make me but open word and start writing again. (:**

**Thank you all! I can't wait to keep writing more though. I just wanted to say thanks for getting me this far. (:**

**Love you guys!**

**Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**After a very stressful end to a semester in school I have _ finally_ written.**

**I am so sorry I've been stingy but I think I might end up finishing this story over the break.**

**It's been a long haul but stick with me for the last chapters!**

**Happy reading!**

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><p>I could always pretend the following day after my night of bliss never occurred, but indeed it did. It slunk up on me as if I was the blade of grass and it was the winter coming to kill me so slowly.<p>

When it was morning, I slowly lifted myself off Draco, immediately regretting the decision when a cold air ran down my spine. But I had a job to do, something worth settling, at least that's how I saw it. I sat there, though, only for a moment, to watch the steady rise and fall of his chest, his random jerky movements as he lied there, and to quiet my own breathing to hear his heartbeat thudding so gently. His heartbeat was the only thing I could cling to in this moment to calm me down enough to slip off the bed.

I wandered into the vastness of the closet he provided for me and touched the satin gowns that hung from its walls, but my eyes trained on the back wall. It was all a brilliant gift, so thought out, but so wrong at the same time. He spent so much time with someone so superficial that it blinded him of what love truly is and that not all women are the same. I felt a pang deep in my heart in that moment, one that knew he was never loved right. It was a pang in my chest that knew he was always used to make the fortunes grow to ungodly amounts; he was never even loved enough to be loved the wrong way. Sure, Scorpious loved him, or I supposed, but Draco never got the right kind of love from a woman. To me, he got the worst form of love from a woman, no love at all.

I realized I had stopped on a particularly flowing dress, royal blue, something a princess would wear. I sighed heavily at it, knowing it would never be worn just simply looked at, and then I made my way to my original destination at the back of the closet. This wasn't an occasion for dressiness, so I donned jeans, a shirt, and a jacket; my favorite muggle clothing.

I walked out and saw Draco was still sleeping soundly, so I made my way to the fireplace but stopped myself before I could throw the Floo powder in. The roaring flames would be too loud for a speedy, undetected exit, so I made the decision to apparate a fair distance from the house. Going home would not have been on Draco's Things Hermione Can Do by Herself list, so this why I had to run away if only for a few hours. I knew if Ron had any inkling of why I was going away he would tell anyone who's anyone. Draco cannot be brought into this; Ron cannot know it is with his love that I am graced to leave behind the relationship that has had me desperate for an out for years.

Once I was far enough down the road that I decided wouldn't pose a problem in the long run, I spun on the spot and thought of my home. I didn't take into account the loud entrance I would make by slamming down on the coffee table, but here I was standing on top of splintered wood, and listening to Ron shout muffled unthreatening threats at the perpetrator downstairs. I rolled my eyes at how dense he was, and walked to the landing of the stairwell before calling up to him.

The silence after my call seemed to suffocate the both of us, which caused paralysis of the rest of our bodies. I couldn't see him; only hear his breathing from the bedroom door. I eventually found the movement in my head to look down and contemplate if I was truly ready to be here. I wondered if I was even ready to be doing this. I closed my eyes, slowly breathed in and out for a minute, and then opened them to take in everything.

I saw old memories flash before my eyes inside the house, with Ron. I remembered when Molly showed it to us at the Burrow and how I thought it was perfect and Ron, again, showed it an annoying indifference. I suppose he didn't really fall in love with the place until we were able to recount our memories it held. I saw my kids, followed suit by Ron, sliding down the railing and running full speed into the kitchen. I saw nights by the fire, intimate made funny by Rose and Hugo ambushing Ron and me. I saw the broken glass from running too much, a rule often ignored in the house. I remembered the scent of Ron the night we got married, how happy he was to pick me up and carry me up the stairs. He was happy, laughing really, giddy as he ran kisses across my face as he carried me to the bed, _our_ bed. I remember his musky smell as he pushed into me one last time during our first time. I remembered the way he told me he loved me and meant it. I remembered being happy. But those memories were just memories. I told myself they didn't exist anymore, the emotions didn't. A smile didn't play across his face at the sight or mention of me. Marriage had dulled our flame, which wasn't as long of a wick as we had thought it was.

I took in a deep breath and willed my legs to ascend the stairs to a great unknown. There could be anger or happiness, shoving or paralysis, screaming or silence, confusion or understanding, or there could be nothing at all. I could simply leave now while I'm halfway up the stairs, never say anything more. Simply leave him to his own assumptions and imagination. Let him piece together his own intricately woven puzzle. But these thoughts were not preconceived early enough, I have to do this. If I don't end it now, someone else will risk everything they have to do it for me. That's something I would never let Draco do, lose everything to get someone who doesn't deserve it.

"Ron," my voice croaked as I stepped on the creaky floorboard on the top step. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. He grumbled, and I heard him sit up in bed, not moving past that. I willed my legs to move forward, hating that I was going to end something that we've had for so long… Something that, I reminded myself, that caused a depression to set in me. Aloneness he would never satisfy, a life I couldn't live anymore…

I pushed open the cracked door and a tidal wave of liquor crashed into my nose. I chose to ignore it, and I pressed on, seeing him scratch his head and stare out of the window.

"Ron, I – uhm – hey…" I started, scratching my head as well. I didn't know how to go about such things; I usually didn't end things well. I don't recall ending hardly anything… "I… I want to –," he slowly turned towards me, indifference in his eyes.

"You want to what, Hermione? Talk? Go, then… **Talk**… You've always been good at it." He snorted at his own joke and turned back to the window, lost in thought.

"Well, I would like it if you would look at me…" I pleaded, but knowing I'd prefer to not look at him at all.

"Why? So you can see if it hurts? Well, it won't, Hermione. You think I don't know? You think I'm stupid, don't you? I know you're leaving me, so why don't you just grab your stuff and leave? I don't care… you know, I've kind of enjoyed having the house to myself and not having an annoying prat tell me what to do all the time. I don't really have to clean up shit because no one will nag about it later." My heart shattered at his words… A hole procured that I hadn't assumed he could make.

"Well, if that's how you feel, Ronald, then I will get my stuff." I opened the closet door and heard him snicker and snort behind me.

"Your stuff has already been packed, **'Mione**." He purred, and I heard him get up and walk closer to me. "You know," one hand lingered on the small of my back while the other attempted to comb through my hair, "I don't think I'll miss this…" He tugged through my hair, ripping some out and causing me to shriek in pain. He gripped my hip and turned me around, pulling me close to him. "I don't think I'll miss our lack of… **intimacy**." His mouth pushed against mine, sending panic through me. I could get drunk off this kiss, that's how much liquor was on his breath. I pushed as hard as I could on his chest, but he moaned into the kiss, forcing my mouth open so he could shove his tongue in. I instinctively bit down on his tongue and he pushed me back into the wall and held me there. "You know, **Hermione**," he banged on the wall, right next to my face. "I don't think I'll miss you one damn bit…" A tear sprang out of my eye; his indifference that turned into bitterness scared me.

"Then, I'll – I'll just go…" I choked out, while sliding down to move under his arm. But he captured my chin and forced me to look deep into his eyes.

"I don't care about you, Hermione. I wish you would've left long ago… You know, when the "flame" died out." He pushed my head back and I hit the wall. He backed away and slammed the door to the bathroom. I put my hand over my mouth and burst into tears, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

Somehow, through the tears, I accio'ed my boxes to the room and apparated with them back into Draco's bedroom, where I knew he wouldn't be. I crawled onto the huge bed and held a pillow against me. I cried, not really sure why, but I cried. Maybe it was selfish to be crying, I am the one who was leaving Ron… But he did say those hurtful things, things that I wasn't expecting. Maybe that's what hurt, the fact that he didn't hurt… But if he did hurt, that means he was giving me a reason to stay. If I subconsciously was looking for a reason to stay, did that mean I didn't want Draco? But of course he's what I want; he's all I've ever wanted… He's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, sans kids.

So where did all this come from? Why? Why? **Oh shut your minds pie hole, Hermione.. gosh, Ron was right, you never shut up. **With that painful reminder to myself I let the floodgates down once again and drifted into a sleep filled with yelling and senseless banging.

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><p>"Hermione, you're so beautiful..." I woke to those words, and I became extremely warm suddenly. I smiled and snuggled closer into his bare chest. "Well, good afternoon, sleeping beauty. I was getting worried." I knew he was giving me one of those looks, but I kept my eyes shut, living in the moment of happiness and security for a little bit longer.<p>

"Are you going to tell me where you were?" He pressed, kissing the top of my head as he did so. I didn't want to tell him only because I didn't want him to get mad. I also didn't want to tell him what had happened, that wouldn't go over well. "I guess not, love. Just know I'm here." I hugged him tighter against me and started kissing his bare chest all over like a mad woman. He laughed at the feathery kisses and ducked down to capture my lips with a soft kiss. I tasted soft, pure honey against my lips, so I put everything in that kiss so he'd know everything was okay. His response, which was equal passion, if not more, made me forget all my problems. Draco always did this, made me feel better, without even trying.

I pulled back and smiled at him, rubbing my thumb on the side of his face. His smile was genuine, full of a happiness I could only assume he hadn't felt in a long time.

"I left Ron…" Draco's face suddenly contorted into a face full of confusion. "Well, I guess, to put it in better terms, I've officially left Ron. We're no longer together…" I bit my lip and looked up at the massive headboard on his bed, awestruck by its intricate designs. I took my hand away from Draco and started rubbing the headboard designs to make sure they were really there. "You know what that means, right?" I asked in almost a whisper as I was almost complete lost in the headboard designs.

"No, Hermione. I don't think I do." He whispered back, so I turned back towards him, inches away from his face. I put my hand back on the side of his face and smiled warmly at him.

"I'm all _yours_." I giggled like a little girl while he kissed me feverishly. He pulled away, rosy-cheeked.

"I've never been happier than this moment now." He whispered into my ear before tugging on my lobe gently with his teeth. So, to make him happier, we continued into a passionate session of something completely different this time. Something slow and steady. Something too personal for words. Something that I had never experienced before. But it made me happy beyond belief that I woke up in Draco's arms the next morning, and I knew I would never have to leave.

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><p>The next morning I woke up by myself, but I took the much needed alone time to take a shower. I was sure Draco had a weird premonition that I wanted to be alone, otherwise I would've woken up in his arms.<p>

After my shower I tugged a brush through my hair, seeing as all my toiletries had been unpacked for me and lay out in the huge bathroom. He also had every bit of my clothes up and put my little trinkets in a box with a note written on the top saying: _We'll find places to put all this together. Love you._ I smiled at his beautiful handwriting and stowed the note in my back pocket before heading down to the kitchen for some much needed food.

"Good morning, my love." The blonde man smiled brightly at me as I sat in his lap. "How did you sleep?" I wrapped my arms around his neck before giving him a quick kiss and smiling as big as I could back to him.

"Brilliantly!" And it was the honest truth because I was with him. "I'll probably say that every morning, you know."

"You'll say that every morning?" He gave me a quizzical look, but I just giggled.

"Because every morning, I'll wake up next to you." Tears glossed his eyes, and his smile became so rich and radiant with light that I imagined he was a kid getting everything he ever wanted on a Christmas morning. And with that, I slammed my mouth onto his, feeling his grip tighten around me, pulling me as close as I could get, and we giggled at each other before continuing. Then he hoisted me up and walked all the way into our bedroom, still kissing me, and laid us down on the bed. After another few moments of delightful kissing, he pulled away and brushed my loose strands of hair away from my face while smiling at me.

"Have I ever told you, I could never love someone as deeply the way I love you?" I smiled at this, knowing he's told me every day since the first time he ever uttered the three worded phrase.

"Yes, and have I ever told you that saying I love you is the only way that it is humanly possible to say how I feel about you? Because, honestly, no words could even conceive describing how I feel about you." With this he took me into his arms, and under the covers, to explore the blissfulness of our bodies as one, and totally in love.

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><p>We spent the next few weeks like that, together as much as possible, almost like we were making up for lost time. I received one letter from a tired owl a week after things between Draco and I calmed down. I recognized it as Pidwigeon and my heart sank. I opened it to see he had already told the kids I left him, and not to expect a reply from them ever. And, there was also a "polite" note reminding me not to mail him either. Telling my kids hadn't really come to mind through all this, which made me feel terribly guilty and sent me into an extreme sadness that scared Draco.<p>

I stayed that way for about a month, mailing my kids every day and never receiving a letter back from them, unless you count them sending my letter back to me, then I did get rather disappointing letters.

"Hermione, I know it's hard…" Draco wrapped his arms around my crying body as I held yet another letter sent back to me from my kids in his study. They used to at least open them, but this was the first one being sent back with the seal unbroken. I shook my head against his chest, sniffling loudly.

"I – I – I don't understand what – what I did." I stumbled through my sentence, causing his heartbeat to speed up. He always tried to calm down the tears and get me to breathe but he's been having trouble with all of it lately.

"You didn't do anything; Ron just might have said it in a way to make you look like the bad guy." He's repeated these words every time, set on the idea that that is what had happened.

"I've tried to tell them there are two sides to every story… I just wish they would listen." I pulled away and looked him in the eyes, well as good as I could see as he was insanely blurry from the tears in my eyes. "I just wish they would understand…" I rubbed my hand on his cheek while I choked down the last few tears, and he swiftly picked me up bridal style.

"Come on, let's take a bath and calm you down." He kissed my cheek and smiled at me before walking us into his room and depositing me on the bed to get the bath started.

After we had settled into his giant tub together he started massaging my back.

"Hermione," he mumbled, "can I ask you something?" I nodded my head, too lost in the pleasure to speak. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why can't we tell anyone about us?" I tensed up immediately, not at all expecting that to be his question.

"I – I never said that…" I said carefully, wondering what made him want to ask the question.

"I know, but you act like you don't want anyone to know. You always turn me down when I ask you to go to town with me…" He faded off, lost in thought.

"Draco, I don't understand… I mean, I guess I just didn't want Ron and my kids to find out via The Prophet, and your fortune lies on who you're married to. I don't want you to lose everything for someone who doesn't deserve it. Someone like me…" I turned to face him and I saw his facial features go hard.

"Why would that matter to me, Hermione? I've already got you; there isn't much else I need. But I guess the kid's thing makes sense…" He stopped for a moment, looking off at nothing. "Maybe tomorrow," he whispered, still thinking, "We can go to a little café. It's basically the muggle world except Luna's daughters shop." He smiled at me, grabbed my face softly in his hands, and smiled at me. The bubbles tickled me into submission after a long moment of thinking. I sighed heavily before responding.

"_Fine_, but you owe me **tonight**." I winked at him, and he started laughing.

He lets go of my face, and sat back to grab my foot. He hits a tender spot, and worked it, making me moan. This was bliss. Suddenly, there was music playing, and I could smell the pasta we had for dinner in the air. Parmesan and meat sauce floated in the air too, mixed with fresh sweet rolls.

"It's all about you," he whispered, leaning in to kiss me again… "How do you want it, Hermione? Because, tonight, it's all about you…" He pulled me under him, and kissed me with the most tenderness I'd ever felt. Why was he being so careful? "I love you," he whispered, placing a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"I love you, too."

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><p>He grabbed my hand, pulling me out onto the sidewalk. "No one will care, don't worry so much."<p>

I stumbled out onto the sidewalk from the small café, dreading the walk we were about to make to a small store. I love him, I do, but I felt so bad for Ron. I didn't want him to find out this way, find out from a snapshot on the front of **The Prophet**. But there I went walking; trying to look down as I held the hand of the man I love. People stopped a couple of times, and others questioned if it was really us. Draco would just smile at them, him being in a totally chipper mood since this was the first outing we had made together as a couple.

Soon enough we were in the safe confines of a small shop ran by Luna's daughter, and Draco led me straight to the back of the shop.

"See, that wasn't bad" He said, lifting my chin to touch his soft lips to mine. "I know you don't want him to find out like this, but he's going to find out eventually. It'll all be fine." He gave me an encouraging smile as I let out a huff, frustrated that I cared so much about him. It made him laugh and tell me, "You are something else. Are you mad because you're finally proving to me that you **care**?" He gave me a quizzical look, before telling me it was time to go home.

We apparated straight into our bedroom, and he quickly picked me up bridal style to take me to the bed. He kissed me all over my face, setting me into a fit of giggles.

"You know I love you right?"

"You know it pisses me off how much I love you too…" He was set into a nonstop laughter, until he realized my somber expression.

"Thank you so much for today. You have no idea how much that meant to me." He kissed me passionately on the lips, molding into the rest of my body.

"You know," I mumbled into his lips, "I care about you, and I love you. Thank you for being my fortress."

"Thank you for letting me be." Then he kissed all over my face.

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><p>No articles, no pictures, and no mention of Draco and me wandering the streets of Cambridge popped up. We made little trips out, never making as big of a show as we did the first time. We've never had anyone come up to us and say anything, nor even acknowledge we were there.<p>

My kids eventually stopped sending my letter back all together and my letters were sent every other day then once a week at best. December came around, bringing in cold weather that made for great excuses to cuddle with Draco. I sent Ron my Christmas gifts for the kids, and I cried myself to sleep for a couple of weeks afterward, wishing I was there with them.

I wasn't surprised when I didn't get anything back, but I was delighted that I just didn't get my gifts back.

A few weeks after Christmas I found myself cuddled up on the couch with Draco, eating caramel popcorn and watching the fire laugh and cackle at its own jokes.

"Hermione," Draco turned to look at me, smiling briefly before continuing. "Are you happy?" I popped another caramel treat in my mouth and shook my head at him while winking.

"Of course I am, Draco." He kissed the top of my hand and held it for a minute.

"Are you sure?" He started rubbing the top of my hand and my heart stopped for a second, fearing he had heard me crying at night these past few weeks. But I threw on my poker face and smiled back at him.

"Yes, Draco, I'm positive." I kissed him lightly on the mouth before asking, "Why?" It seemed like a simple question with a simple answer, but it obviously wasn't.

"No reason, just curious." I knew he was lying, but I just nodded my head at him and snuggled into his chest.

This time he didn't rub my back like he always did, he didn't feel as relaxed and easy going as normal, and he made an excuse to leave minutes later.

I knew I was mostly happy; having my kids would be the cherry on top of my overall happiness. But I guess the real question should have been, was Draco happy?

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	10. Chapter 10

**Fast upload, but hey, I'm uploading! I'm trying to get this done as it was demanded as a Christmas present (;**

**So here is this really steamy, sex filled chapter... Enjoy?**

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><p>I got up from the couch and followed suit, tugging my hair back into a loose bun. I stood in the doorway of our bedroom and watched him sit on the bed, suddenly shirtless. He sat with his face in his palms, breathing steadily as if he were meditating. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I stood there and watched him with acute awareness of his rigidness. I don't know how long I stood there, but I silently watched him breath in and out methodically, like it would soothe me a bit to see him doing something so normal. His stiffness and distance in those couple of minutes struck a chord in me and made my mind gear up and start working like a machine to figure the meaning behind it.<p>

I started walking as silently as possible, as not to disturb him, and walked to the other side of the bed. My silken night gown flowed to my ankles and made me giggle as it brushed the tops of my feet. I crawled across the massive bed and hesitated behind him, but he didn't move. I placed my finger on his shoulder and started absentmindedly running my fingernail up and down his arm, watching the chill bumps rise up. I leaned in next to his face, stopping at his ear, and letting my breath tickle it.

"What's wrong, Draco?" I whispered almost quiet enough I wasn't even sure he heard it. I began to run my finger up and down his spine, seeing him shiver and left his face from his hands. I sat back behind him, wrapping my legs around him and beginning to massage his back, kneading out the knots. Soon he started rubbing up and down my legs before picking up my foot and massaging it deeply. After a moment of massaging each other into a relaxing bliss, I shook my foot free from his grasp and crawled around him to sit on his lap facing him. He held me loosely by the hips and I started running my fingers up and down his arms, making him close his eyes in relaxation. "You never answered my question." I declared.

Without even opening his eyes, Draco ran his hands under my silken night gown and lifted it up and over my head. My lips collided with his in an instant and his hands started kneading my breasts with wanton need. I groaned into his lips and grabbed onto his back, feeling the muscles contract and shiver beneath my grasp. I felt him grow hard underneath me, and, as if he read my mind, he let go of my breasts and turned me over gracefully, laying me on the bed with care. He kissed me hotly for a little after that, letting his hands wonder over my body. Eventually he moved his lips to my breasts, taking one into mouth while gently rubbing the other. Slowly, his rhythmic encircling of my breast became faster and harder. I watched him; he was so beautiful, yet so…animalistic. He suddenly stopped and raised himself up. He moved his eyes up my naked body; his lips were parted ever so slightly, and he slowly licked his lips. Draco looked up with his wants clearly expressed in his face, but he pushed them aside for a moment. Instead of pleasuring himself or me, he decided to be cute for a moment. He began kissing my stomach, light and fluttery like butterflies, causing me to giggle. It was extremely pleasurable and only made me crave him more. He started moving his kisses up in a line between my breasts to my neck. There his kisses became deeper and harder. He was driving me mad!

"Draco, I _need _you…" I moaned. It was a primal urge that needed satisfying. Draco understood, and with an intense look in his eyes, he grabbed his pants and pulled them off before he thrust himself into me. Before he started to move inside me, he reached up and brushed my hair away from my face, and softly kissing me. It was romantic, something that made me melt into him. But then I became aware again of him inside me, so I broke our kiss and craned my neck so my lips were at his ear. "_Please_." My throat was thick and sexy, and he kissed my shoulder before he started moving again. I reached up to the headboard, grabbing on intensely while he pushed into me. I could feel his heat radiating inside of me and hear his heavy, labored breathing as he moved himself back and forth. All my senses were hypersensitive, but to Draco only. I felt, heard, smelled, tasted, and saw just him. My mind wandered nowhere else; I was in the moment with the love of my life.

Draco quickened his pace; I felt him deeper within me. Beads of sweat ran across his forehead. It was all too much…too blissful. He made a slight grunt each time he forced himself farther, deeper, and harder. I released the headboard and I entangled my arms around his neck. The intensity of the feeling between my legs grew more and more. I bit my lip, arched my spine, and ran my fingernails down his back. With one final push, I reached climax and yelled Draco's name. He had finished at the same time as well. He laid himself down next to me and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Hermione. Merlin, I love you…" Draco whispered with an almost sad undertone. I was confused. I turned myself to face him, but he did not turn his eyes up to meet mine. He didn't touch me either, just laid there stiff and rigid. We always cuddled and smiled into each other eyes afterwards… What was wrong? I lied as close to his side as I could, feeling him absentmindedly touch my back, not really comforting or lovingly.

"I love you, too." I whispered while tracing his abs with my fingernail.

"You should go to bed." He said, sitting up and pulling his pants back on. "I've got some Healer stuff I've got to handle." He started walking across the room before he turned back and lifted my chin. He placed his lips on mine, with minimal pressure, and then it became heavier. He put so much fervor into the kiss, but it was so final, so labored, and it was like he was memorizing everything about it. I thought and hoped the kiss would never end, alas, it did. Before I could even respond he had already disappeared through the door. I immediately went under the blankets, and I held onto a pillow before I started crying into it.

The time ticked away slowly as my tears flowed like waterfalls down my cheeks and onto the fluffy pillow that still had his musky smell on it. But his warmth wasn't there, his hands were absent from my body, his heartbeat wasn't there to put me to sleep, and his love wasn't there to envelope me. All that was left next to me was the cold, vacant side of the bed and my tears, which fell and left me behind so quickly.

After what seemed like a decade, with no return from Draco, I decided to get up, put some clothes on, and go to bed alone. But when I got up, I saw a shaft of light being cast from the office through the cracked door. Draco was indeed still up, so I gathered my courage, and some clothes, and snuck down the hall to see what he was doing. Halfway down the hall, I heard loud banging noises coming from my destination which caused me to jump. After waiting for a moment, I heard it again and decided to continue forward to see what it was about, why Draco would ignore such noises that sounded like books falling from the utmost top shelf and crashing to the ground at full speed.

I found when I got to the door that it wasn't the books falling all by themselves, but Draco angrily throwing them across the room with a frighteningly feral attitude that I had never seen him express before. He eventually threw something so hard that it knocked over a glass vase, breaking it into hundreds of pieces. He leaned over, grabbing and tugging at his hair before releasing a violent growl and kicking over the rest of the stack of books he had been throwing. He walked over to his couch and nearly collapsed onto it, immediately burying his face in his palms, and then, from what I could tell, he started weeping uncontrollably.

This wasn't like anything I had ever seen before, the Draco I had seen these past few months has been nothing but radiant confidence and sheer happiness. Not once has he shown a shred of disappointment or anger towards me or anything; but seeing this Draco was terrifying and tragic. I wanted nothing in this moment but to walk up to him and hug him, but the ferocity that I had just witnessed had me pulled in another direction, the complete opposite direction. I could either completely ignore his blatantly obvious request that he made hours ago to be alone, or I could waltz right in there and demand to know what was going on. But I found myself at a crossroad, neither advancing nor retreating, but staying in the middle of reality and dreaming. I couldn't move my legs, even if I wanted to, and I just stared at his shoulders rising and falling steadily with the fireplace as their backdrop.

Soon his shoulders stopped moving and Draco moved his head up to watch the fire dance and cackle to its own beat and jokes, carefree while Draco sat there in a stupor. Like the wind I moved back silently to the room, sliding in between the comforter and the sheets in a robotic state. I don't know what broke my heart more, watching Draco's break, or not knowing why his was breaking…

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><p>The next morning I awoke to a cold and motionless bed, my forehead hot and sticky, and hair stuck to my face. I stumbled into the bathroom before I decided I needed a shower so I could think. I turned the water all the way on hot, slipped out of my clothes, and into the shower letting the hot water beat out the knots in my back. I let it wash over my head, washing away everything that had troubled my mind slip with the water and disappear temporarily down the drain. I let my hands run over my body, imagining they were Draco's instead.<p>

"_I like it when you rub my back." I arbitrarily told Draco during one of our sit down dinners on the floor in front of the fire._

"_Well, I get turned on when you run those long fingernails of yours all over my back." He eyed my fingernails as if I were going to suddenly attack him with them. I giggled to myself as I popped a tortellini in my mouth. "What are you giggling about over there?" He questioned, before he himself popped a tortellini in his honey lips and chewing._

"_Nothing, okay, fine, maybe I was laughing at your arousal." I winked at him causing him to cat crawl towards me, stopping inches away from my face. He smiled at me deviously, before he whispered:_

"_You have no idea about my arousal." Instantly he crouched like a cat and jumped on top of me, gently knocking me over. His lips hung above my teasingly, before he started __**sniffing**__. "Smells like someone needs a shower." He winked at me before picking me up in his arms. "What do you say? I think we should take one together to make sure we get you __**all clean**__." He kissed my cheek and tickled me senselessly while he walked us into the bathroom. He sat me down on the edge of the tub and told me with his finger to wait for him to come back. He started to walk to the shower, but then halfway he turned around, ran back to me, and then kissed me before he went to actually turn on the shower._

_I giggled like a school girl until he came back and kneeled in front of me. He grabbed my hand and started kissing my hand, and then he ran his kisses up my arm before he went to my face to kiss me everywhere but my lips. He laughed at my poutiness at his childish behavior with his kissing me, so he finally kissed me so softly I wasn't even sure it really happened. Then he suddenly had my foot and he kissed the top of it, tickling me and causing me to laugh. He ran up my leg, teasingly kissing my inner thigh before he unbuttoned my shorts skillfully with his mouth; showing off as he unzipped them with his teeth. He kissed the little patch of skin exposed by my exposed zipper before he lifted up my shirt a bit and kissing my stomach. He lifted my shirt over my head, kissing a line up my torso as he travelled up. He unbuttoned my bra and let it fall in my lap, giving each one of my nipples a soft kiss making them grow hard with want. He beckoned me to stand up with him, but as he stood, I stayed where I was so I could undo his pants, although not as seductively. I let his fall to the ground, deciding I would get his boxers later, and as I slid my hand up his side as I stood, I unhinged his shirt from his body, tossing it to the side._

_Looking into my eyes, he took my face gently in his hands and brought my lips to his. He kissed me so sweetly and passionately that I almost melted. He parted my lips, and teased me with his tongue before diving into my mouth and causing me to groan. His hands slid down to my side where he gripped my hips, massaging them slightly as our kiss deepened. I hooked my fingers in his boxers before pushing them down far enough that they would glide to the ground by themselves, then I gripped his strong arms, feeling his muscles flexing. He groaned and slid his hands down to my shorts, taking them off and my underwear in one push. He picked me up in that same instant, letting me wrap my legs wrap around him. Our kiss hadn't broken once. He stepped out of his boxers and stepped into the shower with our lips still attached to one another._

_The water spilled down my back, and I threw my head back in ecstasy. He took one of my breasts in his mouth, and I felt him growing hard underneath me._

"Draco_," I moaned, "_please._" He took his mouth off my breast and kissed me on the mouth while he placed my back against the wall. He lifted me up and slid me back down until I felt him going at an agonizingly slow pace inside of me. I slammed myself down on him, causing him to groan and start sucking on my neck feverishly. He got my message and started pumping into me, the heat from him and the shower became overwhelming. I gripped his hair, my eyes rolling back in my head. While one of his hands held my hips in place, the other began to wander around my body. He kneaded my breasts while he suckled on my neck, and then he traced down my spine once, causing me to gasp in absolute elation._

"_I'm not going to last much longer," he grunted as he thrust into me and I nodded my head at him, hoping he got that I wasn't going to either. He slid his tongue down my throat and he went to my breast, taking my nipple in between his teeth and teasing it with his tongue. I gasped and moaned, tugging his hair as he thrust into me one last time and waves of pleasure rippled down my spine and connected me with him at my core. He groaned my name into my neck, and after my pleasure had dulled a bit he lifted me off him and my feet hit the wet floor. I became aware of the water, the steam around us, and his heavy breathing. He kissed me for a long moment, putting passion into such a simple kiss._

"_I love you," I mumbled into his lips, feeling him smile._

"_I love you so much," he whispered back, rubbing my back while we stood under the downpour of the shower head._

My throat tightened up at the memory, the thought that it felt so far away and unreachable now taunted me. I turned off the shower, and stepped out to dry myself off.

I moved like a robot getting ready, not touching my hair, and aimlessly putting on a shirt and pants. I stood at the top of the staircase, wondering whether or not I wanted to walk towards the smell of food, and face the Draco that I saw last night. My feet finally decided they wanted to move and I found myself in a slow precession to the kitchen. I walked in to see Draco waiting at an already set table, everything looking the same as it always had in the morning, except this morning I saw a letter beside my plate.

"Good morning," I mumbled, getting a nod in return. He gestured to the empty seat across from him and I slowly made my way to the table. I sat down across from him and picked up a fork and started picking at my food.

"Hermione," Draco said randomly, causing me to jump. "I think you should read that letter." He gestured toward the letter, which I realized had my name scrolled across the front in Ron's handwriting. My heart stopped, and I used all my strength to shake my head at Draco. This is the first sign of acknowledgment I have gotten from anyone since I left, even Harry and Ginny. "Hermione, it might be important. It might be about Rose or Hugo." I dropped my fork and hurriedly picked it up with shaky hands. It read:

**Hermione:**

**I don't know where you are, but where you belong is home. I know those words seem empty and wrong after all that happened, and I truly am sorry for what happened. But the truth is I'm so lost without you. Please come home, I love you, despite everything I did. I never meant to hurt you.**

**-Ron**

My heart sank, and I set the letter down, picking up my fork and returning to my breakfast, praying Draco wouldn't question anything that just transpired. But he aggravatingly asked.

"What was it about? It must not have been that important…" He eyed the letter warily, but gave up when I slipped it back in its envelope.

"Just Ron begging me to come home… I don't think he knows that my home is –,"

"You should." Draco said with a stone cold expression. I dropped my fork again and my jaw followed suit. "I think you should go home to your kids and Ronald." He said in a strained tone, but other than the slight strain everything else rang serious and true.

"I – I don't understand." I stammered out, watching the world go dizzy.

"Hermione, I know this is sudden, but I don't – I want to be with Pansy." I felt like I was going to faint, but I willed myself to stand up, which probably wasn't a good idea.

"I don't understand, Draco." Tears were streaming down my face, my whole body started quivering. Suddenly the world stopped spinning and the last thing I saw was the ground.

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><p>I woke up in a dark room; the feeling of sorrow crashed onto my chest and pushed down hard, suffocating me. I fought hard to breathe in life, but bright lights flashed in front of my eyes, the end seemingly near. I heard a slight chanting coming from somewhere in the room, but they weren't saying the same words over and over again. They were saying the same string of phrases that pushed the heavy weights harder onto my chest. <em>"I think you should go home to your kids and Ronald…" "Hermione, I know this is sudden, but I don't – I want to be with Pansy…" "I want to be with Pansy…"<em>

Suddenly I was being shaken, the tears pouring everywhere as I raced towards the light that crushed me more and more every second I got closer to it.

"Hermione, you're having a nightmare, wake up." I heard the voice of an angel pulling me the other way, away from the crushing, back towards the dark chanting room. "Hermione, you have to wake up." Finally my eyes did as bade, and I saw his face, concern etched across it, staring at me. "What was that nightmare about?" I was on the couch and he sat back down at my feet, staring intently at me as if I was about to beat him silly.

"I was in a dark room, and I heard your voice all over…" I shook my head, trying to recall it. "It felt like someone was stacking weights on my chest every time I heard you say you wanted to be with Pansy." Tears welled up in my eyes and I jumped towards Draco, who flinched a considerable amount, and I wrapped my arms around him to only be pushed off seconds later. "Draco, tell me that wasn't true… You were just – Draco?" I looked to him for a bit of guidance, only to watch him rub his face, years had grown on him throughout the night.

"Hermione, I meant what I said." He didn't look at me, but at the fire that was once there. "I want to be with Pansy." I hoped he was saying it over and over again to convince himself, but I knew this was probably a false hope.

"W – Why?" I choked out, holding the couch pillow to my chest for comfort. He gathered in a breath, and sat up straight as if he were about to recite something.

"Because, she's the mother of my child and, with her, I don't have to hide. Hermione, I'm tired of hiding, and I – I just – I don't think I feel the same for you. I think the rush of it all; I don't think it was love." He paused, his stare looked pained, but he looked me right in the eyes with his dead eyes. "I didn't ever love you, I just lusted for you." He stood up and started pacing, but my eyes stayed exactly where he had just been sitting. I stared, unable to cry or feel anything. I wasn't sure if I wanted to feel anything, because that would hurt too much.

My grip on the pillow loosened and I let it fall to the ground, but I continued to stare, no aware of what was even going on. Eventually noise stopped completely, I couldn't even hear myself or Draco breathing. Was he even in the room anymore? I slowly turned my head to try and find him in the room, and I spotted him staring at the fireplace again, his back turned to me. He seemed so broken in this instant, something that broke me a bit too. A tear glided out of my eye, just one tear, and I wiped it off with my hand, sniffling as I did so. Draco slowly turned his head towards me and stared. He swallowed audibly and walked over to me, leaning down on his knees to take my hands in his. I stared over his head, unable to look him in the eyes, and I felt my heart break a little when his thumbs started rubbing over the backs of my hands.

"Hermione, I just, I never meant to hurt you." I snorted in disgust with the statement that men so love to tell me.

"Don't lie to me." I whispered, but I knew he heard me loud and clear.

"I'm not, Hermione, I really didn't, I –,"

"Don't trick me into thinking you care now, my heart can only – my heart can only take so much." I choked the last part out with a quivering jaw, causing a single tear to land on Draco's hand.

"Hermione, I didn't **want** to hurt you. You don't understand…" He shook his head, and then stared at the tear.

"Yes, you're right, I don't understand, Draco. And I don't think I ever will." I shook my head before taking my hands out of his and pushing his away. "I should go, you know, back to Ron. You know, the only place I'm obviously wanted." My voice rang with hostility. "You know," I said, standing up and leaving him on his knees. "I'm not going to lie and say I never cared and that I don't love you." He looked up and caught my eye, shaking his head afterwards. "But obviously you will." I whispered before heading to the bedroom to collect my things. When I was done I noticed him standing in the doorway, watching me carefully.

"I'm sorry." He said after we stared at each other for a very long minute.

"Whatever is causing you to do this; I hope it's the right choice for you. I hope this is what you really want. I hope after I'm gone you'll finally be happy." And with that I apparated with all my things into the back yard of my once happy memories. I finally dropped to the ground and cried, draped over my suitcase for support.

The tears flowed out, not caring where they were, or how loud they caused me to be. But they didn't fill the hole, they didn't brighten the darkness, and they didn't stave off the sadness, the heartbreak. But I pushed it away for a minute, just enough to walk through the back door, enough to collapse on the couch before it, the bending and breaking, started over again. I didn't care how loud I was, let Ron see me hurt, let my kids know I didn't come back happier than when I left, let them know I got nothing by getting away for months. Let them know that my heart was still broken.

It was my entire fault either way. I was never good enough for Draco or Ron. If I was good enough for Ron, he would've never said those things to me, never hurt me physically and emotionally, I would have been loved this whole time. If I was ever good enough for Draco, well it wouldn't have ended like it did; he would have never caused me the pain that he did… This heartbreak was too much, the idea that disappointment is almost expected from every human being, but the realization that you're the disappointment is a hard pill to swallow. True story was that I wasn't good enough for anyone, and I probably wouldn't ever be.

I was sent into a panic attack at this notion, the weights began piling on my chest again, and I saw black. It was like I was in the ocean, drowning in the shapeless form of it, barely treading enough to breathe. But someone pulls me from it, up onto a ship; I feel them push the hair out of my face and shaking me, as if that would bring life to my seemingly lifeless body. "Hermione," I heard them faintly calling my voice, not the voice of a captain, but the voice of an angel. I saw lights again, like in my dream before, but this time I didn't hear Draco's voice pulling me away from it. This time I was all alone.

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><p><strong>Well, hope I didn't disappoint... and yea, I know, hate me!<strong>

**But, please keep reading!**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! **

**So, this is the last chapter...**

**But there is an epilogue!**

**Thank you so much!**

**Happy reading!**

**Questions:**

**Goddess Athena in Disguise: Hello there, friend! I think there might be one chapter where Herman doesn't cry… (; ha-ha I didn't even realize I did that! Anyhow, she's having a rough life right now...:/**

**To every other person that reviewed my last chapter: I know Draco's decisions seem rash, but it will not be explained in this story. But right when I upload the last chapter, I'm also uploading a one shot of this entire story, but from Draco's perspective… I hope you read that! It'll answer a lot of questions.**

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><p>"Hermione! Are you okay?" Ron rocked me back and forth in his arms as I finally came to consciousness. The way he cradled me in his arms felt so foreign, so different. He didn't hold me gently, didn't stroke my back, and didn't look at me with the same soft expression as Draco. In those few moments with Draco, I'm sure he cared, he had to have. Ron was trying though; he was just an awkward human being all together.<p>

"Yes, Ron, I'm fine." I whispered, out of breath from absolutely nothing.

"Oh, Merlin, I was worried. You stopped breathing for a second." The most loving expression went across his face before he started kissing my forehead. "You scared me so bad, 'Mione." He whispered each word between forehead kisses.

"I'm sorry." I whispered back, still crushed a bit beneath the weights.

"Don't apologize, Hermione. I'm _so_ sorry. I really am so, so, so, _so_ sorry." He kissed my forehead again before looking me squarely in the eyes. "Please forgive me." I closed my eyes and swallowed, mustering up the most encouraging smile I could.

"I believe you." I said behind a smile I was sure was a grimace, but Ron took it anyway, smothering my lips with his. It wasn't dispassionate, but it wasn't the sweet honey of Draco's, pure and sweet, silky and smooth, and gentle. Ron's was gruff, to the point, and not graceful. As well as he meant it, it made me miss Draco more. But then I came to the realization, I would never kiss Draco again; I would never hug him or talk to him. This was all I had left, this love. I broke apart from him, looking at his eyes and seeing something more in him, something that might have changed in my absence.

"Ron, I'm not sure…" I shook my head before I looked at my hands, wishing Draco was holding them. "I just – I don't know. I mean, everything you said –," I shook my head again, looking up and into his eyes. "Saying you didn't mean to hurt me doesn't mean it didn't, and saying I'm sorry doesn't fix anything." He sighed before running his huge hands through his long hair, which he obviously hadn't cut since I left.

"Hermione, I know things don't seem like they've changed, but – I mean – they have, I'm sure of it." He grabbed my hands, and smiled at his own thoughts. Here comes what he thinks will be the hook, line, and sinker. "I've never missed someone as much as I missed you, I – uh – I realized a lot. I realized that what I said was ruddy awful, and I was being dense. When I say I'm sorry, I really mean it. I've been in such a poor state since you left, even Rose and Hugo were worried about me. Thank you for their gifts, by the way, they loved them." He smiled goofily at me, and my throat closed up.

"Did they?" I whispered with tears in my eyes. After being alienated from my kids for so long, this is the best news I've heard in the past two days. He nodded and kissed my forehead.

"They absolutely loved them." He whispered against my forehead and a tear fell on our hands. "Why are you crying?" He wiped away the tears that were falling steadily down my cheeks. I knew if I told him everything he would be disgusted with me, he wouldn't ever talk to me again, and he would tell the world and ruin Draco's life. I couldn't tell him why I was really crying, well the sad part of me crying, but I could tell him the happy.

"I thought they hated me, I thought they would never understand, never let me back in." I sucked in and started my partial lie. "That's why I didn't come back for so long; they never gave me any indication that it would have all been okay if I had." I looked at him in the eye, and he nodded his head in understanding.

This was what I would have to settle for, this life and this relationship. With Ron, I had a full family. I had in-laws that actually liked me, I had children that would tolerate me, I had a husband that cared for me, and I had a steady job and roof over my head.

My secret unhappiness would never occur to them, my longing for another man would never have even been a thought in their mind. But Draco didn't want me, he wanted Pansy and I would have to be okay with that because it would make him happy.

"I have a lot to think about." I whispered, expecting an incompliant Ron, but instead I received a nodding Ron.

"Take as long as you want." He leaned in to kiss my forehead as he stood up. "Well, at least take as long as it takes for me to go get the kids at my moms. They still haven't gone back to school." He laughed, and ruffled his long hair with his hand. He had a slight beard now, ginger as the hair on the top of his head. Gruffness suited him well, made him look rugged and sexy in his own way. Draco could pull it off, but his normal combed look was so well fitting on him, I couldn't place the beard and shaggy hair.

"Go get the kids; I can't wait to see them." He nodded curtly before crossing the threshold to leave.

I slowly made my welcoming back procession into the house and up to the room that once belonged to me. I lied down in the bed, taking a pillow into my arms and smelling it deeply. It wasn't Draco, but it wasn't all too unfamiliar. A tear fell from my eye and landed on the pillow, saying hello before it dissolved into its depths.

_"Hermione, you've gotten tear stains on my pillow." Draco held up a pillow in the doorway of the office, and I laughed at him. The fire was too warm to want to get up, and the book offered more company than a madly cleaning Draco. Suddenly my head was knocked forward and a pillow fell into my vision. I turned around quickly on the couch to see Draco smirk and wink before running off._

_"Oh, no you didn't!" I screamed, picking up the pillow and following suit. Right when I walked out of the office another pillow smacked my body and I hit wildly with my pillow until it suddenly stopped moving. His hand pulled it easily away from me and he took off with a pillow under each arm. I ran after, intent on attacking him, but I found him lying on the bed with his arms behind his head and a smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes and jumped on top of him, tickling him wildly until he had me pinned under him._

_"I was trying to read." I stated, my arms locked under his grasp so I was unable to move._

_"I was trying to clean." he snorted, wrapping my legs around his waist._

_"You **so** started this." I attempted my best sexy smile, and it made him chuckle before kissing me softly on the lips._

_"You **so** went along with it." He mocked in his most girly voice, causing me to laugh hysterically._

_"You are so strange." He smiled his best boyish smile._

_"Why, thank you, miss!" He kissed the tip of my nose before rolling off me and lying beside me, just looking at me sideways. "You're so beautiful…" He whispered, causing butterflies to take off inside my stomach. "I don't like it when you cry." He carefully ran a finger over my cheek, pushing away the frizz that was falling over my face. "Don't cry, beautiful. I love it when you smile." I flashed my teeth at him, and he did the same._

_"I'm sorry about your pillows." I whispered, staring at the ceiling._

_"I'm sorry that you're sad." My heart clenched, I actually believed that he was sorry. "I can fix that." He whispered, rolling over to where he was holding himself up over me._

_"Can you?" He nodded, placing a hand on the side of my face. "Will you?" He nodded again before dipping down to kiss me hard._

"I'm sorry about your pillows…" I whispered, closing my eyes and hoping when I opened them I would see Draco. But when I opened them I was in a pallid room, in a bed, completely by myself.

I woke up to the sound of my kids banging stuff downstairs, and I jumped up to run to the bathroom. I knew I looked horrible but I couldn't fix it so I sucked in a breath and faced the hardest thing of my life, facing my kids.

"Okay, guys, I have something…" I heard Ron telling the kids, and I froze on the steps, invisible to everyone. "Just…" I stepped down to the last step, seeing Ron turn and smile at me. "Oh, well, here she is!" He ran over to me, hugging me tightly and whispering in my ear, "Just give them a minute."

"Okay." I whispered shakily, feeling safe in his arms for only a minute. But when he pulled away I saw the shocked looks on my kids' faces. I smiled at them, and ruffled my hair. "Well, hello, you two!" I outstretched my arms for a couple of minutes before dropping them to my sides. Suddenly arms were wrapped around me and I saw red hair right below my chin. I got my arms wrapped around her, and I kissed her on the top of the head.

"Mom!" She squealed, hugging me tighter and making me squeal.

"Rose!" I said through a choked throat, eying Hugo who was still standing by his dad's side. As if she understood what I was looking at, Rose released me and beckoned Hugo to come over. Hugo didn't take long to convince before he was running over at full speed to jump into my arms. I took him in, twirling him around, psyched that I got any reaction other than anger.

"I've missed you guys so much!" I took them both in my arms and hugged them tightly, getting a large smirk from Ron. "Tell me about school! Come on, let's go sit down, I want to hear _everything_."

We talked until it was time for dinner, which I fell easily into the new schedule, loving that Ron was actually the cook for once and it was made without breaking anything. The meal was moderately nice, and we all talked throughout the dinner.

"Mom," Rose pulled me aside after dinner before she went up to bathe and get ready for bed. "Can we talk before I go to bed? Like, by ourselves?" I nodded my head and kissed her on hers.

"Of course, baby. I'll come in there after your shower. You just can't stay up late, okay?" She nodded her head and ran up the stairs. I smiled after her and walked into the living room to have a small word with Ron. I sat next to him on the couch, and laid my hand on top of his, staring into the fire and thinking of Draco for the first time since I saw my kids.

It hurt when I thought of him, made me feel like my stomach was flipping and turning into knots. I saw and recalled things suddenly, things that I would never experience with him again. I would never kiss his honeyed lips again, would never feel his angel soft skin, never feel his embrace, feel his warmth, and visit the magical place only he had ever been able to take me.

Maybe fairytales don't exist, Beetle and Bard made up lies to make you happy as a child, Mother Goose told fables to give you morals, but you still have that hope as you grow up. I grew up wanting Prince Charming, and I found Ron, someone who made me laugh and cry, someone who was sexy but totally normal looking at the same time, someone who came from a pureblood family but found themselves fine with mudbloods and half-blood's alike. Ron was no Prince Charming, nothing about him would have fit my books when I was growing up, but he was who I ended up with. But I could swear I found a Prince Charming in the months I was away from Ron. His name was Draco Malfoy and he was someone who made me laugh, made me feel beautiful, made me feel happy, and knew how to satisfy me with a smile. But I wasn't a princess, not in real life and not the books. As much as Draco was my Prince Charming, I wasn't his princess, and that was my own fairytale, I guessed. It happened, but I had my own non-Prince charming who saw me as his Princess. That was what I decided I would have to be content with…

"I need just a little more time to think…" I said, squeezing his hand before I let go and putting my hand back in my lap.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight, if you want. I'll give you time, if that's what you need. Just don't leave again before you've thought about it." He got up and held his hand out to me.

"You don't have to stay on the couch… I will. I just have to get a pillow, blankets, and –,"

"Hermione, I'm staying on the couch. Okay?" I nodded my head and followed him up the stairs, but stopping in the hallway outside of Rose's room.

I walked into Rose's room, and she was sitting on the bed, waiting for me.

"Hey, sweetie." I smiled and sat on the bed next to her.

"Hey, mom." She smiled, laying her head in my lap in the process.

"How have you been, baby?" I wondered aloud, smoothing her soft red hair back.

"Hugo has hardly talked since you left daddy." She said plainly, as if this were an old dinner topic that had dulled its interesting storyline. My throat tightened up at the thought that this was nothing new to talk about, but I let her continue by herself. "Stupid Scorpious Malfoy tried to beat him up and made fun of him for being so quiet. No one knew you'd left, so they didn't know he had a reason." She rolled over so she could look at me, catching sight of her dad walking down the stairs with his night time supplies, but continuing without questioning. "I got detention for a month with Malfoy for beating him up and he got it for trying to beat up Hugo. He's so stupid. As much of a prat as he is, he didn't hit me once, so I guess that's like the only good thing about the kid." I smiled at this, knowing that Draco wouldn't have raised him so wrongly like his own father did to him. Well, not entirely like his father, that boy would always be a Slytherin.

"Honey, I know I should be mad that you got detention, but I'm proud of you. Thank you for taking care of your brother." I smiled at her, receiving a toothy smile back.

"He missed you so much, mom." She whispered, looking off to the side for a minute. "I did, too. But I wanted to be strong for him, like Uncle Harry was for you when dad left." Tears threatened to show their presence but I sniffed them away, nodding for her to go on. "I'm sorry we sent back all your letters. We were just upset, and we read the first bit together, then I decided Hugo couldn't take reading them anymore so I decided we would just send them back unopened…" She bit her lip, before looking me deep in the eyes. "Why did you stop sending us stuff all together?" I racked my brain but I didn't know what she was talking about.

"I always sent you letters…" I brushed through her hair, watching her scrunch her eyebrows together in thought.

"But, I never saw any with Pig. They were all from dad…" I shook my head, and she shrugged. "I guess they just got lost along the way…" She giggled and sat up to sit facing away from me. I started to put an intricate braid in her hair when she whispered, "Did you fall in love while you were gone?" I paused for a second, my jaw falling slightly, before I continued braiding her hair. "I won't tell dad. I just – I just want to know…" She turned to face me when I finished her braid.

"Yes…" I whispered, ashamed to be telling my thirteen year old daughter.

"Then why are you home?" She didn't mean to sound rude, and I didn't even think to take it that way.

"He didn't want me anymore…" I curled my legs up under me to face her better.

"You still love him, don't you?" She looked at her wall and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Yes." I whispered, knowing she wanted to know how much without her ever having to ask me. "I think I always will."

"You love daddy, too. He's your first love, and first loves are always forever." I knew she was right in that instant. I knew that no matter how much I loved Draco, I would love Ron too, just in a different way. "You aren't going to really leave him, are you?" She looked into my eyes for reassurance and I smiled.

"I do love your dad, too. And I'm not leaving him, I promise. I'm here for you, sweetie." I smiled and she wrapped her arms around me.

"So," she said, leaning back against her headboard. "What's it like?" She smiled, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"What is what like?" I asked, confused.

"Love." She simply said, wagging her eyebrows up and down.

"It's like waking up every morning and its Christmas, I guess. You love seeing them, no matter what they look like. They can always cheer you up because you're always giddy around them, even if it doesn't seem like it. They piss you off so bad, but it always ends in laughter. They don't have to know anything about you, but it still feels like you've been together since you were born. It's basically like all your dreams have come true in one instant; your heart is beating wildly inside your chest, everything about them comes into sharp focus, and you feel like you've become alive. Falling in love is so easy because it hits you out of nowhere. They'll say one thing, one insignificant thing, or look at you in a certain way, maybe even a look you've seen a million times, but that one time you hear it, see it, or anything it hits you. And then you're in love. Everything makes sense suddenly; everything you've missed out on and needed suddenly becomes experienced and fulfilled. When people say it's the best feeling in the world, they aren't lying. It's like flying, like being on top of the world, and it gets renewed with every look, every word, and every touch, just everything…" I faded off and looked into her eyes to see her smiling from ear to ear.

"That sounds…" She paused for a couple of minutes. "That sounds amazing…" She whispered, hugging me tightly.

"It is, honey." I said into her ear while she hugged me.

"I'm sorry you don't love daddy like that, but at least he's your best friend, like Uncle Harry." She smiled, and I kissed the top of her head.

"I think I have to go talk to your dad…" I bit my lip, and she nodded her head.

"Hey, mom, I love you." She said as I started to turn out her lights.

"I love you, too, Rose." I said, before turning off the lights, shutting her door, and sucking in a breath to go see Ron. I started to walk down the hallway when I heard a small voice call from behind me.

"Mom…" Hugo whispered, sticking his head out the door. "Come here…" He whispered, beckoning me into his room.

"You're supposed to be asleep, troublemaker." I told him while I picked him up and laid him in bed.

"I know, but I had something I wanted to show you." He got off the bed, leaving me by myself to occupy it while he rummaged through his school trunk. When he was satisfied with what he was looking for he turned around with parchment overflowing out of his hands. "I wrote back to you, but I could never send it. I didn't want Rose to get mad at me…" He laid down every letter on the bed beside me before running back and grabbing more things out of his trunk. "And, Rose doesn't know this, but I kept your last letters you sent before Christmas holiday… I snuck and stole them before Rose could get them, she never knew, but I wanted to keep you close…" He held out one to me, in particular, and I took it.

"Why are you giving this one back?" I asked, partially saddened.

"I'm not; I just wanted you to see my favorite. I read that one all the time." I opened it to see he wasn't lying. The parchment was ready to fall apart after having been opened and closed so many times. "This one you just seemed so happy, and you put love in it. It made me happy." He smiled at me before tucking the letters I wrote back into his trunk and sitting on the bed next to me.

"I'll read all your letters later, honey." I kissed him on the top of the head and he hugged me tightly.

"I love you, mom. I missed you… I just wanted you to know that." I smiled at him, truly happy for the first time in days.

"I love and missed you, too. Now, off to bed before I have to ground you!" I winked at him and then tickled him like a mad woman. When he was done laughing I put him under the covers and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Hugo." I whispered, watching him smile.

"Goodnight, mommy." He whispered back.

I walked into the living room after tucking Hugo in and Ron immediately sat up on the couch.

"Hey," he whispered, a smile flickering across his face. "Are you done thinking?" He looked around, unsure of whether or not he actually wanted my answer.

I nodded my head in the archway and crossed my arms on my chest. "Yea, I'm done thinking…" I smiled and walked over to the sofa to sit down.

"Whatever you need to say, let it out, I won't interrupt. I promise." He grabbed my hand and rubbed it.

"Ron, I can see you've changed. I can see leaving you here has helped you grow up, but…" I looked around at everything before looking into his eyes. "But I needed you and you weren't there for me." I shook my head and looked at our hands, mine so small in comparison to his bear paw. "I _needed_ you, Ron. I was breaking down, and you didn't even _notice_. Instead you would yell at me about a sandwich, about being **sick**, and about missing work. You called me a _mudblood_, Ron. How can you ask me to forget that?" A tear slid down my cheek, but I had to remember Rose was right. I may love someone else, but I will always love Ron. I wondered where she came up with that, again, but I put it aside. "I just need to know that you **honestly** feel bad about that; that you **honestly** didn't mean it, otherwise, I'm not sticking around. I don't deserve the hurt, Ron." He held my face softly between both of his hands, almost enveloping my whole head.

"Hermione…" He breathed, his voice choked off by a threatening waterfall. "I'm **so** sorry that I hurt you. I know that even when I say I didn't mean to that it still hurts, but I want you to know that I love you _so _much. I missed you so much when you were gone, and that's when I realized I had things to change, so I did. I changed, Hermione… I swear it." A tear fell from my cheek at his sincerity and at the lack of mutual feelings between us. But I could see the change; I could see the vulnerability he was showing me in this moment.

"I want to know that this will work. I want to know that we can talk about this, like this." He nodded his head, planting a soft kiss on my lips.

"I promise I will keep my cool. I promise, Merlin, I do…" I nodded, kissing him on the cheek.

"We'll continue to work on this… It won't be the same, though…" He nodded his head, and I turned to walk back upstairs, breaking a bit. "No," I said to myself. "It never will be; not when I don't miss you." Instead I missed someone else… I knew I always would.

And I walked up the stairs to life I knew before Draco, a life where I didn't know I could have better. Well, then I guess this life is different, because I will know there is always something better, but I couldn't have it even if I wanted to…

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><p><strong>What do you think?<strong>

**Will you please review!**

**I love you guys! (:**

**Read the epilogue, too!**


	12. Epilogue

**This is the epilogue and the last you'll read of Says the Moose.**

**That is... until you read Draco's one shot... (:**

**It's titled 'When It's Over, and It's Gone.'**

**Enjoy this!**

**Happy Reading!**

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><p>Every time I went to Platform 9 ¾, I looked for angel white hair. I saw it every time, but he never paid me any attention, never looked at me, never made eye contact, and probably never even saw me. But I saw him… I saw him Picking Rose up at the end of the year, and when I dropped her off a couple of months later.<p>

But this year was different, this time when I dropped off Rose for her seventh year, I knew this would be the last time I would ever see him. I wouldn't see him out in the wizarding world, or the muggle world. To me, it would be like Draco Malfoy would disappear from the face of the earth. This made walking onto the platform that much harder, and I knew it would be that even harder to leave.

"Mom, come on! This is my last send off, and I don't want it to be me chasing the train…" Rose laughed, pulling my hand and leading me through the crowd. Ron had Hugo somewhere, probably slipping away from the clutches of an embarrassing mom, but thankfully away from me for only a little while.

We've been good up so far, only getting into a few major fights, but it's basically like we're friends living together. We only touch and kiss in front of the kids, but Rose has always known it was a show for Hugo. Ron had come to the realization that things were never really going to be the same, but he was also sane enough to not ask what happened while I was away for those months. His parents never asked, nor did Ginny or Harry. It was like it never happened, at least, to them that is what it felt like. To me, some days were good, those were the days Draco wouldn't cross my mind, and some days were bad, that's when everything I saw reminded me of him. The worst days that were something you could count on were the few days after dropping the kids off. I blamed it on being a hormonal mother, but I always had a sneaking suspicion that Ron had once caught on a long time ago and was just humoring me.

"Okay, you have everything, right?" She nodded, pulling me into an embrace. "Mail me who the Head's are! I hope it's you!" I kissed her on the top of the head, and she rolled her eyes.

"Expectations, mom…" She reminded me, and I nodded my head.

"Low, low, I got it!" I gave her thumbs up as she jumped onto the train.

"Love you, mom!" She screamed, disappearing into a compartment with James Potter and Courtney Finnegan. I stood on my tip toes, looking for the tell tale sign of my husband's red hair, but I saw neither him nor Hugo. Instead, I turned and ran right into a stunning Draco Malfoy.

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, picking up my purse that I dropped.

"No, that was my fault." He bent down to help me and his hand brushed mine, causing my heart to sputter and go into freak out mode.

"Mom, the train is leaving!" I heard Hugo behind me, and I stood up quickly throwing my arms around him.

"I love you, be good!" I kissed his head as he ran towards the starting-to-move train.

"I'll try! Love you, too, mom!" He waved before ducking into the train. I clasped my hands in front of me, watching the train leave, and then I was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. I turned, around to see Draco holding out my purse.

"You almost left this, Hermi – Mrs. Weasley." He quickly corrected, placing my purse on my shoulder.

"Thank you!" I said, getting a curt nod as my reply. He looked around for a second then winked at me before leaving. That had to be a sign, right? That wink had to have meant follow me to my sex chamber you sex kitten, didn't it? I started to follow, but I was suddenly stopped by someone grabbing my hand.

"I'm right here! Let's get home…" Ron laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulder and walking me out of the now empty platform, ruining my sex kitten fantasies. Twat.

We stopped to get dinner and watch a film at the cinema before coming home that night. Right when I walked in I saw a letter on the table and my heart picked up the pace. Would Draco so openly mail me after today on the platform? I wondered as I picked up the envelope, but my demeanor saddened when I saw my daughter's familiar scroll across the front. It read:

**Mom and Dad,**

**I'm not one to brag, but… I GOT HEAD GIRL, I GOT HEAD GIRL! Sorry… But I'm so excited! And what's even cooler is this pairing of Head's is the first Gryffindor/Slytherin pairing since mom and Mr. Zabini! Oh, I didn't even tell you who the Head Boy was… Well, to my slight disappointment, Scorpious Malfoy was chosen. But I really had to mail you because there is a parent thing for the Head's but only one parent should come. It's for the whole weekend, next weekend. I love you!**

**Send back who will be coming ASAP!**

**Rose **

My heart raced, I might get to spend a weekend with Draco Malfoy…

"Ron?" I turned to look for him and he was already heading into the living room.

"Can't, thing planned with Harry next weekend. You don't mind, do you?" He threw me a look and, I shook my head.

"Nope, I actually can't wait to see Hogwarts after all this time!" I yelled, maybe a bit too loud, but there was more than Hogwarts that I couldn't wait to see…

And that was Draco Malfoy.

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><p><strong>This is it! I really enjoyed writing this, and I know it was a long haul, but here I am, leaving you hanging...<strong>

**GO READ DRACO'S ONE SHOT (It's called 'When It's Over, and It's Gone) IT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING UP UNTIL THIS POINT!**

**Should I do the sequel? I have it all already mapped out, and everything...**

**I just need motivation!**

**Well, I just want to say thank you guys so much! I absolutely love all the reviews,a and you guys are awesome, really.**

**Thank yous:**

**Courtney Daisy: Thank you for pushing me to finish, and thank you so much for editing everything! You are awesome!**

**Loo-McAllister: Thank you for helping me out with everything! You also pushed me and help me figure my junk out!**

**Thank you: , brokenly yours, kagschann, linklovesme, al2010, keepmovingforward, Raven Phantomhive, OffMyTea, FanDee, Remains-anonymous, , crunchymunchers, goddess athena in disguise, lovelollipops, mi, I am Katniss Everdeen, and Marian Malfoy for reviewing and keeping me going! You guys are the best!**

** I love everyone, and I hope you love this story!**

**Whether or not I decide to write the sequel (that depends mostly on if you guys even want it), I do have a Hermione/Ron story for when they're in school that I'm going to begin posting for soon!**

**I hope you guys decide to come back!**

**(:**

**Love you!**

**Review? (:**


	13. Authors Note

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers!**

**I just wanted to pop in and tell you that I am currently working on several stories, and one of them is a Dramione fic!**

**Although the one I am working on is ****_completely_**** different than ****Says the Moose****, I would love if you would check it out.**

**And regarding the Sequel to ****Says the Moose****, it is being worked on and worked out. There's just a lot of back tracking to be done and explanations to be given.**

**But there will be different ending than this because you guys are fantastic and deserve it.**

**But with school coming around, it will be a work in progress.**

**Stick around, because I have so many plans. (:**

**Love you!**

**Happy reading :D**


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